It is Well...

There seems to be a lot of stress and negativity permeating our lives today. Our government's the epitome of intrusive, chaotic dysfunction; our troops grow weary of war in distant lands; the nation is divided into factions of finger-pointing across an ever-widening gap of disparate values and beliefs; a dying environment crumbles all around us from man-wrought apathy, and the economy remains a precarious wasteland fraught with uncertainty.

The only phone calls I seem to get are from debt collectors - never from the hundreds of jobs I've applied for or the publisher with that fat book deal...

...But it is well with my soul. Why?

Because the sun still rose this morning, the hummingbirds still stopped by for a visit, my daughter's health continues to vastly improve and my wife woke with a warm smile upon her face - just for me.

It is well with my soul.

There's food in the cupboard, a roof over my head, and good friends just a keystroke away with a laugh and a smile. The van hasn't died completely, I didn't have to serve jury duty this week, and a lot of people - even a few I DON'T know :0) - seem to really be enjoying the story I've worked years to bring about in print.

That, too - is well with my soul.

I can't change what's happening in D.C.,  but I can vote wiser in the future and hold my leaders more accountable.

I can't issue an order to bring all the troops home - or mediate a peace with an enemy that doesn't seem to want any - but I can pray and support the ones who serve.

I can't wave a magic wand or weave a potion to cure the world's environmental woes - but I can make small changes to decrease my own footprint on this place, and build upon that day after day.

I can't make that employer hire me or wish my novel on to the best sellers lists - but I can keep scribbling, and keep trying, and keep treading water indefinitely - moment to moment if need be, as long as I'm still breathing.

It IS well with MY soul.

I can smile.

I can love.

 I can make someones day a little brighter than it could have been - and I don't have to do it by staunchly advocating my beliefs or cramming my values down others throats.

It is well with my soul, because my outlook on this life and how I choose to walk it is the only thing I have absolute control over. And I choose to do so with a thankful and grateful grin.

Peace to you and yours, friends. 

Live, Laugh... and Love.







  

Chasing Dreams

I wrote 'Benjamin Oliver Flanagan' over a Christmas holiday many years ago. I was recently divorced and spending time with family in Missouri. My sister-in-law's mother, Rosemary - a sweet, Godly and wonderful woman told me that the best advice a friend had given her during her own similar crisis was to simply "go wait outside, and let God handle it."  I found the sentiment refreshing and entirely relevant to my dire straits of the time, so I sat down and penned the tale of Benjamin and Speedy.

I posted the story on a poetry website a few months later and was contacted by a publisher in Cleveland that wanted to produce Benjamin. After a year of putting all the pieces together, Benjamin was published in a limited release and then quietly faded into that place where most children's books disappear to.  The publisher has since gone out of business, but I had enough good feedback on the tale over the years to take a chance and put it on Kindle earlier this month, just to test the waters.  The response was overwhelming!  My brother convinced me to put it back in print, and I was anxious to do so but didn't want to rake people over the coals with a book that cost more than I felt it was worth.  My new publisher increased the size of the book and decreased the printing costs by more than 50%, making it a much more affordable option that I couldn't balk at.

I received a few phone calls, text messages and emails asking when the next Benjamin and Speedy tale would be released - and I honestly didn't have an answer. I contacted Kevin Scott Collier, the original illustrator and discussed the costs associated with developing about 40 new images for 'Benjamin & the Heavy Load', the next tale in what I hope will be an ongoing series of life lessons for Benjamin & his trusty companion.  The production costs are more than I can currently pony up, and even if I had the dough, the chances of recouping that investment within my limited market are slim to none.  Let's face it, folks - unless your name is Dr. Seuss it's kind of tough to make a living in the inspirational children's book realm.

But this project is not about money or getting rich.  It's about moral lessons given to me by my father that I want to pass along to as many impressionable young minds as I possibly can. Would I love to see the Benjamin series as a best-seller?  You betcha!  But more important to me is the smiles I get from children who love the characters, adventure and lyrical dance of my work - and I know they can't read the stories without having some of the kindness, faith and trust impacting their lives, and ultimately help them make better, kinder and wiser choices as they grow.

I've got the story - I just need your help in funding the art creation and helping offset the costs of audio production.  If you support positive literature for young people, I sincerely hope you'll consider helping me bring another positive tale to new life.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wait outside and see if this dream is going to come to fruition. Blessings to you and yours!

Here's the link to the fundraiser - give what you can, if you can - and share the effort with your friends.  http://www.gofundme.com/vj1cw

Much love!  Dream Big Dreams!

-Dale

Choices

In this land of the fat and happy we have a veritable smorgasbord of choices laid bare for our perusal and discernment. Pickings might be a little slimmer these days for many in the good old USA, but nevertheless we remain one of the most affluent people’s on the planet.  Food, job, education, rulers, religion - any flavor under the sun you crave: choices - even where we opt to hang our hat remains a possibility limited only by our means and dreams. We pick and choose and roll with the consequences; ‘tis the American way. 

But what about the choices we don’t have? Those non-arbitrary dictates the universe has plopped unceremoniously in our lap, and with which we’re expected to simply deal with; what of them?

We’re all familiar with the adage about getting to choose our friends but not being able to choose our family. Let’s take that just a step further...

What choice did we have in even being born and joining the ranks of humanity? And what onus do we - and should we - recognize as a consequence of this unbidden gift the fates granted us? Philosophers have been gnawing on that bone since the birth of imagination, no doubt. Why am I here and what am I supposed to do? I don’t promise to grant the answer to this oldest of questions - but I do have some thoughts the sages may tacitly approve of, and don’t require a PHD in philosophy to grasp.

Firstly - none of us on this planet are consciously aware of our choice to be here - at least in the circles I run in. If there was a line at the reincarnation window while my consciousness was choosing a future home in the galactic buffet - I frankly don’t remember it.

Second - our physical selves are just individual, conscious bags of mostly fluid shaped by disproportionate measures of nature and nurture. Period. The myriad hues, shades and features that help us discern one another are just that:  markers that separate us from the rest of the herd —  but in no way establish a pecking order of worth or merit.

Third - and this one sticks in the craw of many - we all have a soul that transcends the limitations of these bags of multi-hued fluids; a consciousness that will prevail when the expiration date on this bag of juice eventually expires. If you can’t buy that, I recommend reading the hundreds of thousands of near death experiences penned over the centuries. If you’re too obtuse to acknowledge your own soul, then perhaps this blog isn’t for you - and I recommend you opt for a simpler existence the next time you’re standing in the reincarnation line; perhaps a few millennia as a rock might enlighten you to the magical wonders within.

But what do these simplistic fundamentals have to do with our purpose while we’re here?

When my daughter was born the universe didn’t give me a manual on how to coax her through adolescence onwards to adulthood. There were no Cliff’s notes on how to be a good daddy. I had all my innate, nature-nurture tools and my own experience to put to use as best I could; plus the fortunate sense to garner the wisdom and guidance of those around me in achieving the goal of raising her right. I’ve bumbled and stumbled - but she’s still kicking and thriving - in spite of my missteps.

Our dance with one another on the face of this planet is no different. We have the priceless treasure of a measureless collective of knowledge and wisdom right in front of our faces every day in the billions of souls surrounding us, and within the tomes of experience recorded by generations past.  The trick is getting beyond the unyielding doctrines and borders that woefully separate us from the benefits of collective wisdom; blinding us to the unlimited potentials of love, peace and a harmonious path of mutual benefice.

If we simplify our thoughts and recognize our kinship and equality - I believe our unified consciousness will lead us down paths of extraordinary opportunities we can only dream of - and it may open doors that afford us the recognition of others in this universe that tread similar rough and awkward paths on their way to better things.

I believe the growing pains of humanity will eventually pass - in spite of the choices we can and cannot make.  Choose wisely, friends - and embrace the open mind.

Stirrings of a Grand Spring

I love this time of year. Even here in the desert Southwest, crisp mornings are giving way to warmer sunrise’s, and the air is redolent with a thousand, colorful blooms that mock the desert chill, invigorating the spirit.

Spring has sprung, but not just any Spring. It’s Spring 2012.

To some, that simply means the countdown to doomsday is ticking away that much faster; but I’m of the optimistic ‘glass-half-full’ sect, fully believing we’re on the brink of  stupendous, world-changing opportunities.

When I still lived in the Missouri Ozarks and experienced a more pronounced changing of the seasons, I penned the following poem, titled ‘Stirrings’:

    Cool Mists of Transition descend from Above.
    A chilled cleansing of breath;
    Mother Nature's sweeping glove;
    Battalions of Geese bode the soon-budding blooms,
    Sleek Riders upon ancient waves,
    Rebuking Winter's gloom.
    With Soul-cleansing Vigor we suck in Spring's Promise,
    And breathe out Gracious Thanks,
    For the New Life upon us.
    One step in the Dance of our Orb 'round the Sun,
    A pin-prick of change 'midst the myriads spun;
    From Cosmos to Being in a wispy, cool, flash;
    Our substance of presence in the Panoply's Path.
    Our share in the Grandeur and Wonder of Being,
    Heartened in Spirit,
    By the Stirrings of Spring.

My prose means more to me these days in the context of global change and global consciousness than it does in a mere shifting of the seasons. Global signs and messages aren’t pointing towards armageddon, but instead towards a shift in human understanding and our place in the universe.

I look to the diligent research of my amazing friend Colin Andrews, who’s devoted the lion’s share of his life in making sense of the ever-evolving complexities of the substance and messages found within crop circles. He believes humanity to be on the cusp of a great shift that will avail itself this year, but not without cost. The price is not onerous - but elusive.

Another great friend, famed abductee Stan Romanek shares Colin’s view of this window of opportunity dawning upon us this year, but also with the same price.

Do I believe the fate of the world hinges solely upon the belief’s of a kindly English engineer and an American abductee?  Not entirely, but in a nutshell — Yes.

The price-tag for our progress as a species?  Unity.

I’m not banging a New-Age drum - far from it.  Nor am I naive enough to believe all humanity can unite beyond their apparent differences and the negative connotation’s man-made borders have created. 

One person at a time.

One positive thought at a time.

Just one person believing we’re all human - that we’re all related, and we’re all in this together can create the impetus needed to guide us beyond the need for war and strife, instead embracing love, peace and a semblance of harmony.

One turns to two. Two turns to four. And four can turn into infinity - if we defy fear and negative thinking and willingly embrace change and progress.

I’m no prophet and I’m not espousing anything you don’t already know.

I do know the onus of change rests squarely upon all of our shoulders, and I believe great things await us if we only give goodness a chance.

Relish the Spring - and dream of greater things to come.

Two-week Hiatus

Hey Friends - Time for me to pay for my slothful ways.  My academic term ends in two weeks and I've got a stack of assignments to wade through - so the blog roll will be on the back burner until this pile disappears.

Keep looking to the stars until then!

Cheers,

Dale

First Post for Intrepid Mag

Hey Folks - the cool people over at Intrepid Magazine were kind enough to add me to their roster of blogger's, so I'll be dividing the content I create between here and there.

Today marked my first submission for Intrepid - and I hope you'll wander over that way and check it out. Just click the title above or copy the link below to get reading.

http://www.intrepidmag.com/blog/art-appreciation/

Cheers!

Dale

Rendlesham

In late December of 1980 I was a skinny ten-year-old living in La Junta, Colorado; idling away the remaining days of my Christmas break by putting my recently acquired Millennium Falcon through all the light-speed trials and out-of-this-world adventures Han Solo, Chewbacca, G.I. Joe, Evel Knievel and any other action figure I could stuff into the cargo bay could handle. I recall that new-plastic smell like it was yesterday, and the thrill of dreaming about that galaxy far, far away remains a current and constant companion. Little did I know that while I was battling the Dark Side of the Force in my mind’s eye, real-life American Airmen in England were experiencing an event that truly defied imagination - an event whose implications are still unfolding 32 years later.

If you happen to bring up the ‘Rendlesham Forest Incident’ (RFI) within UFO circles, the looks you’ll get often border on sublime reverence and awe. It remains the undisputed Holy Grail of modern UFO research, eclipsing even Roswell with its sheer volume of credible testimony from highly-credible sources. Countless books, articles and documentaries have been created over the years discussing the event - some good, some bad - and some just flat-out hogwash.

When you whittle away the piles of riffraff trying to make a quick buck off this amazing encounter, and those simply craving the glow of the limelight, you’re left with a handful of substance comprised primarily of the military men who lived through it - men still doggedly seeking answers, truth and a modicum of justice from the country they served; and if by some chance you think the book on Rendlesham is closed - then you’ve got another thing coming, friend.

If you’re not familiar with Rendlesham, I encourage you to visit the website created by Darren DeBoy, The Rendlesham Forest Incident. You can also spend an entire day surfing through YouTube reviewing the topic - but it’s hit or miss on the truly good stuff. Another great source for the truly curious is the FaceBook page titled ‘Justice for the Bentwaters 81st Security Police at Rendlesham’, moderated by Jim Penniston and John Burroughs - key witnesses to the RFI, and determined investigators in unraveling all that’s transpired since their experience. Tell ‘em Dale sent you - but mind your manners! The website will give you all the skinny about the encounter, and the FaceBook page will bring you up to date on the most current events, and perhaps make this next section a bit easier to understand for those unaware of what transpired.

In a nutshell,  then-Airman and now retired TSgt Jim Penniston scrawled the images of what he saw displayed on the craft in his notebook. And then he touched it! You can view these images he drew on the Rendlesham website and wonder along with the rest of us.

When Jim got home after the event, he felt compelled to write out twelve pages of binary code that were seemingly transferred to him when he touched the craft - feeling an amazing sense of relief after he’d finished writing it down. Now I’m not one to slam Security Policeman unnecessarily (they are easy targets) - but show me an SP in 1980 who knew what binary code or even a computer was and I’ll buy you drinks all night!  Jim never revealed the code until years later, still in the original notebook - and I completely appreciate and understand why. 

When you’ve got a security clearance, you want absolutely NO questions to your sanity raised. NONE!  If you risk revealing what you personally perceive must be a mental deficiency or lapse, even within the bizarre confines of the event they experienced, then you can kiss your security clearance and military career goodbye.  Anyone who’s ever worn a uniform can vouch for that - especially during the elevated paranoia associated with the days of the cold war.

Jim brought the code elements to public light in 2010, giving just a portion of the code to the producers of the Ancient Aliens television show, which aired their findings in December, 2010.  He didn’t give them the entire code, primarily out of fear of releasing what he thought to be gibberish. He didn’t want to inadvertently hamper the veracity of the event by inserting a series of random numbers he firmly believed would amount to nothing. In his thinking, the first few pages would reveal the code to be meaningless, and he’d get off the hook simply as another key witness to this extraordinary event. But that didn’t prove to be the case. The investigative team found substance in the code, and it prompted Jim to start investigating what the ENTIRE code revealed - and that ladies and gentleman, is what we call ‘the rest of the story’.

In July of 2010, John Burroughs and other witnesses -AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE-  started a deeper investigation of the event,  which later included the full binary code. They’ve consulted numerous mathematicians, physicists and put diligent, proven investigative skills and people to the task. They want no stone unturned in a diligent pursuit of the truth. The results are tentatively planned to be released at an event in June in Woodbridge - but the economic realities we’re living in are starting to rear their ugly head - here and in England; so the results of their investigation may be released in the coming weeks right here in the good ol’ USA. 

The substance of what will be unveiled isn’t clear, but it will be profound - and no doubt profoundly ignored - at least by most.  I, for one, will be paying attention. And I hope you do, too.  You may not see the results on CNN - but you’ll sure as heck see it here. Keep your minds open, folks - tomorrow may be brighter than you think!