I get it; truly, I understand. The important part is the last element noted.

Do not give power to the dark imaginings; pray to the source of the only pure truth.  Live your best life, boldly.  Resolve yourself; lead, protect with great intensity; stand firm against all of it in any measure of your capability.

Smile.

Be relentlessly affirmed in your mental resolve.  Remember, you control your thoughts and focus.

I Wish I Never Found You…

…”It was easier being in the dark. Whoever you are, man, your analysis regularly blows my mind. I’m unable to poke holes in anything you write. You make me feel smarter, but in fact I’m simply better informed. Since Rush passed, you have provided the clearest vision and I wish you had his reach.

It’s interesting to note that I’m not Christian and I see it’s a major source of your inspiration. To me, Christianity is bunk, and historically the church has been unkind to my people, to say the least. However, when those who use it as a spiritual guide to the path of righteousness, I have great respect. That’s you, Sundance. Regardless of the path, we both seek the same destination. The truth.

Every day I read your web page and more often than not, I get upset and then have to calm myself so as not to disrupt my home. Few want to know what’s really happening because it’s too painful, too unbelievable.

Because I read a tremendous amount of history books, I have too much perspective, I fear for the future, and I can’t look away. This parallels the Bolshevik/Mao Revolutions in unsettling ways. I have 20 good years left if I’m lucky, and just trying to stumble to the finish.

If 20 years ago someone said that:

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Spurred from several recent conversations, it becomes entirely necessary for this specific audience to understand a reality that is never discussed.

If you are reading this, wherever you are reading this, by self-association you are in a select group of high information people with a much larger understanding of the issues than your network.  That means you know, comprehend, understand and have a level of insight and discernment that is far above average.  Now, let me be brutally honest.

Factually speaking, all of the people within the mechanisms of DC,  the people you associate with being key allies to fight back against the visible corruption,  the people you assign hope toward,  are not as smart as you.

Re-read that as needed.

One of the biggest shifts of thinking needed, in order to change our dynamic to the abusive relationship with government, is to realize these people you consider important are just not that smart. They are not wiser; they are not more strategic; they are not as well versed in the details at the heart of the crisis; they are not as well informed; they do not have special access to information that makes them more capable; they do not understand the issues better than you.

Again, RE-READ that with new eyes to evaluate and understand the challenge.

It doesn’t matter what position they hold, or what access they have, or what groups, interests, networks or information resources are at their disposal.  You know more than them, and you understand the material at a much higher level of comprehension than they do.  It does not matter what their rank or importance is, YOU know more. Once you realize this, then you begin to change how you look at the challenge and at their functional capability within it.

The informational context you assign to them does not exist.  The things you think they know, they don’t.  The very specific information you believe they are aware of, does not exist in their mind.  The people in Washington DC, those allies who you think might have the skills to fix issues, have no concept of what material you are aware of.   You are light years ahead of them in the scale of information you understand, and the context it means.

I am not being hyperbolic.

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… Hurricane Ian hit.

One year ago, right about the time I am posting this the eye was passing.  The previous 4 hours had torn the back of the roof to shreds and removed everything in the backyard.  Everything was gone.  Now it was time for the backside of the storm to take out the front side.

I made a quick trip outside in the intermediate lull, only to realize it wasn’t over.  Now it was going to get worse.  The backside brought with it a 15-foot storm surge which had begun and would last for the next five hours.  Thankfully the core structure seemed intact.

Taking a breath and realizing everyone would feed from my vibe, I said a prayer for mercy, retreated to the hunker down position and reassured.

Internally I knew a purposeful God was reminding me of my selfish insignificance.  I knew things would be different tomorrow. I was watching the physical landscape where my youth unfolded, forever changed; much of it erased completely.

The trees which once held the swings and forts for youthful triumphs, felled by nature’s fury and soon thereafter turned to mulch.  Their trunks and branches now landscape mulch for a coming McMansion; a person with no similar attachment.

And so it goes…. And so, it goes.  An apropos metaphor for life, and a not subtle reminder that we are temporarily living it.

If my younger self had known a clock was counting down, perhaps the kid would have paused under the shade of the old banyans and thanked them. Then again, it really wouldn’t be childhood if we carried such weighty concerns.  I am forever thankful I never carried that weight, and simultaneously today I cherish each breeze with a newfound appreciation for what I did not know.

It is easy to lose our sense of optimism.  Retaining a joyful perspective while everything around us seems mad isn’t easy.  However, if you accept that you can create something just a little bit better by making a choice, then you have accomplished a great deal.

If you are reading this, you likely had no idea how much your prayers and support carried me starting one year ago, tomorrow.

I am blessed and thankful.  I cherish you.

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R.E.M is a band from Georgia.  This song was written in 1987.  Did you ever notice the lyrics?

That’s great, it starts with an earthquake,
Birds and snakes, an aeroplane
Lenny Bruce is not afraid.

Eye of a hurricane,
Listen to yourself churn
World serves its own needs,
Regardless of your own needs.
Feed it up a knock, speed,
Grunt no, strength no.
Ladder structure clatter with fear of height, down height.
Wire in a fire, represent the seven games
In a government for hire
And a combat site.
Left her, wasn’t coming in a hurry with the furries
Breathing down your neck.
Team by team reporters baffled, Trump, tethered crop.
Look at that low plane!
Fine then.
Uh oh, overflow, population, common group, but it’ll do.
Save yourself,
Serve yourself.
World serves its own needs,
Listen to your heart bleed. Tell me with the rapture and the
Reverent in the right
Right.
You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright
Light, feeling pretty psyched.

It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it.
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

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“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”

1.) First, please READ THIS ENTIRELY – and the full text of any discussion you wish to participate in.

2.) PLEASE STAY ON TOPIC – do not post something unrelated to the specific matter and content of the thread subject. There is ALWAYS a daily open thread available for any subject you feel should get attention. Never place unrelated, “O/T”, or “Off Topic” comments on a thread unrelated to the topic. It is not ok to say: “sorry, O/T but”… or any iteration therein, it is quite rude.

The Treehouse operates on the ‘old school’ standards and practices of civil discourse amid the original blogging community, long before social media took over.

3.) PLEASE NARROW YOUR THOUGHTS – Quality beats quantity. Please construct your comments to target specific areas and not broad generalizations about the discussion topic at hand. If you have four or five disconnected points, break them up into individual comments; that allows people to respond to the specifics.

4.) PLEASE AVOID GENERALIZATIONS – Do NOT speak in riddles. Words like “he, she, they, it, them” should rarely be used. Spell out “who” using the name, spell out who “they” are at the beginning of every sentence in your paragraph; so that there is clarity as to who you are talking about. Please avoid using acronyms.

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The next sixty days are peak hurricane and storm season for the Southeast coast.  While we all hope for a non-eventful next few months, several people have requested a repost of the lessons from Hurricane Ian.  I am duplicating that information for sharing and bookmarking in case you missed it last year.

[Current Tropical Status per NHC]

The ‘context’ of Ian was shared previously {Go Deep}.  What follows below are things to consider if you are prepping for a hurricane impact and/or deciding whether to stay in your home or evacuate.  Standard hurricane preparations should always be followed.  Protect your family, secure your property and belongings, and prepare for the aftermath.

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Here’s a fun blast from the past.  Yesterday, someone mentioned S&H Green Shield stamps and the stuff we used to purchase with them.

Today, I was having a conversation about communicating old school with a person, and about how the generation soon to come will find new methods to avoid the censors and monitors.  I mentioned the Green Shield stamp reminder and we had a blast reminiscing about all the stuff we used them for.

I think just about every small appliance and cookware for my very first apartment was the result of using S&H Greenshield stamps.

So the conversation expands…. Date yourself.  How many of you remember them, and what did you use them for?

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As things clarify in the weeks and months ahead, it is important for me to say something just for this audience.

You are awesome, and it is an honor to be in your association. You guys, and ladies, get it.

You get the big picture of everything that is happening, and you have the innate ability to reconcile the moments and contrast against the larger challenges we all face.

It is my privilege to host this conversation, and I am humbled in the role of steward for our understanding.

Thank you.

I hear from people all the time, many of them we would consider important and influential -in person and in notes, emails and messages – about how smart and wise this audience is in grasping a complexity that is often part of an intentional effort to hide the schemes of those who control the levers of power.

You are the best of America.  Your insight, wisdom, pragmatism, intellect, discernment, stability and ability to apply commonsense amid the intentional constructs of chaos, puts you in a very unique class of thinkers. Your ability to discern context and apply it to events is second to none.

In the whole, we are grounded in faith, prayer, thankfulness, servant-minded and patriotic in disposition.  Despite the chaos, we remain optimistic, joyful and deliberate in purpose.

At this point in our assembly, we have thousands of resources, literally everywhere, digesting information of subject matter expertise and then collating that information into context that are shared in return messages.  Each part contributing to a much larger understanding. It is one of the most incredible and awesome things to be a part of.

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Our ally is anyone who stands beside us. Our enemy is anyone who doesn’t.  The new sons and daughters of the revolution are going to look completely different.

The Green Dragon Tavern may be a bar room, a cafeteria, a church gathering, a picnic table or a tailgate.  The assembly is not focused on the labels of the assembled.   The mission is the purpose… The fight is wherever it surfaces…. When you doubt yourself, remember the bloodline you come from – and stand tall.

Protect the kids.  Defend your family and community.  Be smart. Train your brain to be smart, think like an insurgent. Never let them steal your peace and keep living your best life – they hate that.  {Direct Rumble Link} WATCH:

Look at it this way, at least you don’t have to pretend like the DeSantis crew. lol 😁

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As I am sometimes able to do, today I printed the prayer thread and took it with me.  I light what grandma always called ‘my Jesus candle‘, sit still, then walk quietly through each prayer and request with pause and deliberation.

As I generally do, I also add my own prayers targeting a turmoil that is less specific.  There is bludgeoning in the world; there is also manipulation, deception and ultimately evil. I do not like it; I am repulsed by it; and like you I choose to oppose it in every way I am able.  This is our ultimate zero-sum battle.

The task completed, I also pondered the changes of the past seven months that surround me. The physical landscape where my youth unfolded, forever changed – much of it erased completely.  Then suddenly, for some unknown reason, a thought occurred:

If God told me a secret today that I was not permitted to share; a secret that today was my last day and yet I could not reveal that knowledge, what would I do?

There is a particular clarity of life, a clarity to purpose, that seemingly happens when we put a clock on our endeavors.

Generally, we ignore the clock, abiding to life is much easier that way, and, truthfully, I do not believe there is value focusing on something we do not control.  However, while we do not control the countdown – we do control every choice we make within it.  Thus, the question holds merit, ‘What would I do?‘

If we accept that we can create something, perhaps make it just a little bit better by making a choice, then we have accomplished something; perhaps much bigger than we imagine.  It is a fundamental truth in life that if we change the way we look at something, then what we look at changes.

We always have choices.

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