Feeling Much

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The world is hard.

Soft people get smacked up hard in this world.

I know because of being an empath.

For most of my life, I thought being an empath was something from science fiction.

I didn't read enough.

I've had this problem with this world as far back as I can remember.

It's not as far back as most.

The first twenty years of my life are gone because I physically died at age seventeen.

Died during an operation to restore my breathing.

I lost my memory.

I lost my family.

I had to relearn my past.

From imperfect narrators.

Most, if not all, of it I didn't like.

I have a soft heart.

When you're born soft, the world will gleefully stick you hard.

Cruel father, a mother on the cross of indifference, bullies.

Every question you have struck down, telling you you're retarded.

Stupid.

Striking you across the face till you bleed because you can't read.

Being cruel is not only a point but also a strategy for survival.

In a world of limited resources and an ever-changing environment, being cruel, selfish, and hateful allows you to survive.

Being soft-hearted in this world is a contradiction.

Independant.

Self-made.

The man living alone needs nothing and nobody.

The American ideal?

I was born soft.

I feel things others don't.

Like a dog tied up in the yard, I can hear danger approaching while my people sleep.

I can smell fear.

I can see self-made ignorance.

I know instantly when you're lying.

Soft people are here for a reason.

We have a duty.

A duty to warn.

A duty to care.

A child only cares about itself.

Adults care for both themselves and others.

We have lost those touchstones in our Western society that allow us to recognize when it's time to transition into adulthood.

To care.

To put the future's well-being and safety ahead of our self-interest.

Soft people are here to remind the children to put away their toys and take on the larger responsibilities of life.

Adults care for the children.

Children care only for themselves.

This world is hard.

Sometimes, I struggle to cope.

The cruelty, the despair, the uncaring, like one stone stacked on another, crush me.

Yet I rise.

I have a duty.

A duty to warn.

A duty to care.

Join me.

Peace

Daniel J Frey aka Toby

Bridges

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When the road ahead meets a gap, we build a bridge to get to the other side.

That's what we do, don't we?

Humanity has never come up against a problem and said, 'Nope, can't do that.'

Yes, many will say, 'Let somebody else build the bridge.'

That's true enough.

But when there's a river to cross, everyone recognizes the need to build a bridge to get to the other side.

Ain't no mountain high enough.

Ain't no river wide enough.

Ain't no valley deep enough.

As the song goes, it keeps us from reaching our desired destination.

The gap.

Racism is a gap.

It's a mountain, a river, a valley keeping humanity from getting to where it wants to go.

Where does humanity want to go?

It aspires to a world where peace, justice, and love are the norm, not the exception.

Not something that takes every effort we have in our minds and bodies to keep and secure.

A place where peace, justice, and love needn't be fought for.

A reason why we are in this constant numbing struggle generation after generation is the gap called racism.

There have been efforts to build towards the promised land.

Generation after generation has sunk foundations, pillars of stone and steel, deep into the riverbank.

All in the effort to build that bridge.

To span that expanse.

But we keep coming up short.

The world is ruled by thirds.

It's a hard, fast rule that every problem and situation can be divided into thirds.

One-third want a solution, one-third don't care about a solution, and one-third fight any solution.

It has long been recognized by bridge builders that only one-third of the people actively help build bridges across humanity's divides.

In fact, two-thirds of the people are either actively fighting the building of bridges or are doing absolutely nothing.

The worst part is those that are doing nothing.

Letting others do what they won't do.

If we can get enough of the people who are sitting on their hands to join us, we can finish building that bridge.

How do we do it?

How do we do it?

Here's an honest answer…

I don't know.

I don't know.

People haven't listened to the words that Jesus said.

Have they?

They don't listen to Dr. King or Gandhi.

They don't respond to the voices of poverty, the tears of despair and loss.

They don't respond to the bombs of war, the bullets in our streets, our schools, our homes.

Old man racism.

That dark river out there called racism sure has a lot of people afraid.

I've been thinking, and you all can tell me I'm nuts.

We have to get up out of our seats and take as many as we can by the hand, by the heart, and lead them step by step to that brotherhood of man.

We must all actively engage with our brothers and sisters and bring as many as possible to the other side.

We also have to understand that we can't get everybody.

What we got they don't want.

Waiting on the rocks to grow wings isn't going to happen.

We can't wait for the perfect time.

Our time is too short.

Take your brother and sister by the hand and tell them we are not afraid.

We know the way across the river.

You don't have to be afraid, either.

Love is calling your name.

Hear it?

Just have to answer and cross that bridge.

It's for free and only costs you your fear.

Peace

Daniel J Frey aka Toby

Light In The Darkness

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The universe is dark.

So is the human consciousness.

We all are born into darkness.

No guidebook is handed out for free to guide us on our stumbling journey.

In the dark, we reach out and touch people with good and not-so-good intentions.

They, too, are on their journey, believing in their guides.

But what is the end?

What is at the destination of those maps?

Is it the light of Truth or an abyss where there be monsters?

Light in the darkness.

All life springs from the dark.

Without the darkness, we would not be able to recognize the light.

Life in all its forms is a resistance to the darkness.

To never have lived means to never have grown.

To never have lived means never leaving the darkness.

To live means leaving the darkness behind where myth, legend, and lies whisper to our ego, telling us there is nothing outside.

Darkness tells us our ignorance of life is a virtue.

Darkness tells us nothing exists outside of what we believe to be true.

However, if you live only in darkness, in your own Truth, you are only living a half-life.

A half-life means you are crippled and ignorant of Truth.

You are not living a whole life.

A life where light and darkness reveal the Truth of the true meaning of life.

Light in the darkness.

There are so few lamp posts of Truth in the dark.

Many of the lights installed in the dark are there to trap and hold people, much like moths to a flame.

People put up these lights because of their need for power and to be praised by others.

They are not true lights.

To judge for yourself what is a true light, always remember this.

Truth doesn't need you to believe because it is the Truth.

Truth doesn't need your money.

Truth doesn't need your permission.

Truth doesn't need you to worship it.

Truth stands like a light in the darkness, piercing through the fog and sweeping back ignorance, shining as a beacon of freedom.

The voice of love speaks with the light of Truth.

Light in the darkness.

Peace

Daniel J Frey aka Toby

Fear

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Where does it begin?

Fear of the dark.

Fear of the stranger.

Fear of the parent.

Fear of the barking dog.

Fear of the bright flashing light.

Fear of the bully.

Fear of being embarrassed.

Fear of being caught.

When does fear ripen?

Fear of peers.

Fear of sexual identity.

Fear of society.

Fear of judgment.

Fear of the future.

Fear of the unknown.

We are all at odds with fear our entire life.

We do many things to keep our attention from focusing on our fear.

Drugs, alcohol, sex, career, religion, politics, pets, eating, reading, music, walks, talking…

All human activity is a way of doing something, anything that will keep us from thinking about our fear.

Ultimately, what can all these fears be boiled down to?

Death.

As far as we can understand, we are the only life form on the planet that knows it will no longer exist one day.

That's real.

Everything we ever love will die.

That is why we run.

That is why we climb mountains.

That is why we run from sunrise to sunrise.

We run to keep ahead of the fear.

We create a whole pantheon of stories we tell about the past, the present, and the future.

These stories we tell ourselves keep us from accepting the reality of death.

What death really means.

This is the evil at the heart of humanity.

This fear.

This fear of death keeps us from doing what is right.

This fear of death keeps us from doing what is just.

This fear of death keeps us from loving each other.

Understanding that death is the ultimate act of living reveals the importance of life.

Every life, every life is essential.

Every life important.

Every life, including yours and mine, has meaning.

You will not pass through this universe in its current form ever again.

Understanding the value of life and the significance of an individual's existence requires us to do more.

We can not let people die and let God sort them out.

That's absurd piss on the world logic.

This life is all we are guaranteed.

This is it.

This is why we stand; we speak up, and we fight for what is right.

For justice.

For freedom.

For our human rights.

Fear is the slayer of truth.

Death is the end of all things.

Love gives birth to the truth.

I love you all; this is why I'm telling you the truth.

Drop hate be hope.

Live.

Stop dying.

Peace.

Daniel J Frey aka Toby

Blame

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Who is to blame?

Short answer…

We all are.

The act of blame serves three purposes.

The first is to target a thing or a person with a negative responsibility.

Blame.

Second, to generate guilt in a person or thing.

Blame.

Third, to deflect responsibility.

The blame game is as old as the human race.

Why are there no crops?

Who vandalized my sundial?

Why is the person I love dead?

Somebody did something; consequently, somebody must be to blame.

Blame.

Who is to blame?

I can't be to blame, am I?

When was the last time you heard anyone say they were at fault?

Occam's Razor suggests that no one you can personally remember has ever taken the blame.

It's easier to blame everything else but yourself.

Bandits, crooks, hucksters, flimflam men, liars, despots, dictators, and the sociopath next door and in your family all use 'blame' to stay in power.

Blame is used by governments, religions, social media, and charities worldwide.

Someone is to blame!

Blame them!

You're innocent.

Give me money, give me power, give me your soul.

Trust me.

You're not to blame.

Just an aside...

If anyone ever says, 'Trust me,' they are immediately untrustworthy.

That's a damn fact.

Trust is earned, not taken.

And that's at the core of blame.

Blame says that the other person is responsible.

You are ultimately taken off the hook; if someone else is to blame, you don't have to take any action.

For that kind of relief, allegiances are formed between those who blame others and those who believe they are not responsible.

Responsibility.

I'm here to say we are all responsible.

We are the weavers of darkness, hunger, poverty, injustice, and fear

There is no outside force, no invisible mythical entity darkening the world.

Its people.

Us.

Darkness.

Everything we love will die someday.

This is why it is so important to love one another while we can the best way that we can.

That is why we must stand for justice the best way that we can.

That is why we must feed the hungry.

Help those who are sick.

Be with those who grieve.

This is why we must drop the blame and take responsibility for our lives.

The harm we do.

It is our failure to do what is right when it is needed.

Doing nothing is not a virtue.

Doing nothing is the thread that stitches together the blindfold of fear.

I'm just one voice in a chorus.

I'm asking…

Drop hate be hope.

Peace

Daniel J Frey aka Toby

Boundaries

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How far does your influence extend?

What are the boundaries of your control?

Do you even think about it?

Do you think about it a lot?

Do you road rage?

Do you hit your child?

Do you knock on doors and hand out fliers on political, religious, and social issues?

Do you yell at your neighbor's dog?

Do you not leave a penny?

Do you march?

Do you write your congressman?

Do you stay in your own backyard and ignore what's going on over the fence?

Boundaries.

We all have the potential to influence others.

Those people whom we know and don't know are also in their own bubbles.

Some of us are ballsy enough to romp over to our neighbor's yard and burst their bubble.

However, most of us are complacent and allow our neighbors to drown in theirs.

We assume their decline; their failure is all theirs.

We had no involvement in it.

Boundaries.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.

There are groups of us who believe we can lead others to the well of our beliefs and make them drink the water we're pouring out of our mouths into theirs.

This is and has been a false narrative given to us by those individuals and societies that have subjugated us, the People.

In other words, you can't force people to believe as you do, regardless of your moral high ground or the low ground from which you stand.

If you do, you are a little dictator.

A nationalist.

A fascist.

A supremacist.

Believing that everyone is within your boundaries of control.

Your subjects to do with as you please because you are the king of the world.

Boundaries.

Boundaries.

There are boundaries we break, but there are also boundaries we don't break.

We allow poverty to murder our neighbor and their spirit.

We allow injustice to steal truth.

We allow racism to beat other people down.

We allow those who lack boundaries to make us cowards.

It is difficult to have boundaries when passions are inflamed.

However, there is a difference between seeing a person drowning and either ignoring them or throwing them a book on how to swim.

There is an answer to boundaries that is a compromise.

There is a boundary in between.

It's called love.

Love understands; love attempts to tell us that you can't always get what you want.

Do no harm; love asks of all of us.

Your boundary ends inside of your head; your influence ends there, also.

Your boundary ends at your fingertips.

Community.

We come together as a community, share ideas, and chart a course that best suits all of us.

Together.

Taking all reasonable ideas and beliefs into account.

In the history of the world, there has never been a single belief or a single person who has had all the correct answers to life's problems.

Nobody.

History, in fact, is littered with people and beliefs that lack proper boundary control.

Truth, justice, freedom, and love have always defeated them.

Put a spotlight on their poor boundary control.

Always.

Peace

Daniel J Frey aka Toby

Heavy Lift

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Some of our brothers and sisters believe that the law is up for debate if it is not explicitly written in the U.S. Constitution.

It's even up for debate whether it applies to you and whether you will obey it.

This is why there is a job ahead of us all.

There is a heavy lift.

The Constitution has to be amended.

What does 'amended' mean?

It means that our society has grown more complex than when the Constitution was initially written.

In 1787, the Constitution was written by and for White Protestant male landowners.

Period.

That's a fact.

However, in their wisdom, the founders put in a contractual clause.

An exception, a clause, in case the minds and consciences of Americans changed in the future.

This clause stated that as the American Society evolves, it will be recognized that this document will be inadequate to meet the needs of future citizens.

The Constitution can be rewritten, amended, or repealed if a majority of States see the need.

Many of our conservative citizens believe that the Constitution is the same as their Christian Bible.

It is not.

Understand that the Constitution of the United States of America is a civil document that states the rights and protections of its citizens and outlines how they are to be governed by their elected officials.

It is not a religion.

It is not the holy book of any one religion.

It is not a book of poems.

It is not a belief.

It is not a fiction.

It is not.

Consequently, the irony is that too many of our conservative brothers and sisters believe that if it ain't written in the Constitution, that right doesn't exist.

These Constitutional absolutists are akin to the character George Costanza from Seinfeld.

When his boss fires him for having sex with his secretary, George laments, "If I had known, if it had been written down, I would never have done it."

This is the Conservative mindset: You have to have the law explicitly written down in one place, and in one place only —the Constitution.

If it's not explicitly written down, that law, that right, doesn't exist.

What about local laws?

Laws created by local governments, States, and at the Federal level are all up for debate.

They are covered in the conservative mind by the 'all-holy' States Rights clause, which is again believed to protect and exempt States from obeying Federal laws.

The Law.

Again, the debate is whether I will obey that law.

Suppose there is no sentence in the Constitution saying there is a right to privacy between a woman and her doctor. 

In that case, that right doesn't exist in their belief.

No amount of legislation will convince them.

No amount of protest.

It must be explicitly written in the sacred document ordained by Jesus Christ himself.

Yes, Conservatives believe that the Constitution was dictated by Jesus Christ to Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the Constitution…

Yes...

Yes...

Yes...

Jefferson "did not write" the Constitution; he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

People with a belief have no room for facts.

Fact.

Jefferson was not a Christian; he was a Diest.

A Deist is a person who believes in logic over mythology.

The mythology of Western Religion in which he was born into.

What do we have to do to make a change...

Our heavy lift, if we can get the resolve together to do so, is to convince people who believe in mythology to develop the ability to reason.

It won't be easy.

Nothing good ever is.

Some people have to be dragged into the light for their own good.

I can attest to this from personal experience.

Just like a Lifeguard… 

We who understand and believe in the greater good, for justice for all, are being called to come to the rescue of our brothers and sisters.

Our brothers and sisters are drowning under the weight of their myth.

A myth that keeps them spiritually oppressed.

A myth that overlooks their economic and social sacrifices.

A myth that forces them into servitude that cares nothing for their welfare.

A myth that keeps the power in the hands of the few, not the many.

This is the good fight.

This is the good work.

This is why you and I are here, in this place, at this moment.

Peace.

Daniel J Frey aka Toby

Why Change Can't Happen

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Believe me.

That's the central problem in America.

Beleif.

You can believe me or not, but understand that there is a fundamental roadblock at the heart of gun control, abortion, voting rights, civil rights, and human rights.

That roadblock is what you believe.

There has always been an error in interpretation as to what belief means.

Belief has always been a game of chance.

You either believe or you don't.

If you believe, then you are part of the club.

You get rewarded by the club.

Belief provides immediate benefits.

If you don't believe, you are somehow out of touch, sinful, against God, against me as a person who does believe.

You don't get any benefits.

You're on your own.

No club for you.

There is no fighting belief.

Once a person has committed themselves to a story, it is impossible for them to entirely let it go.

And what does belief do for us?

It feeds our prejudice.

It feeds a monster called ego, which demands that I'm the center of the universe.

Belief tells us it is right for us to be selfish.

Protect our own.

It feeds that inherent genetic childhood psychology, that feeling that I am the center of the world and that I must survive.

My needs before the other.

I am the chosen.

The one.

Consequently, in this mix in our nation, there is a group of people who firmly righteously believe they are God's chosen people.

There are organizations as well as individuals who understand the dynamics of this prejudice and exploit it for their own benefit.

For profit.

These 'brokers of evil' keep the monster called White supremacy alive, feeding it the red meat of death and destruction.

They are the gatekeepers keeping racism on sale.

These gatekeepers can be found in legislative bodies.

Sitting in judgment on legal benches.

In pulpits.

In our places of work.

In the home.

The belief that I'm better than everyone else on the planet is not limited by class, race, nationality, or income.

Belief is a cancer on the soul of mankind.

Belief served a purpose when humans were alone on a hostile planet with limited resources.

Belief is a sickness that rots society from the inside when you live in a world of abundance.

Belief keeps the individual isolated.

Isolated from reality.

Isolated from asking who is my brother who is my sister?

Belief.

What does your belief tell you right now?

Can you see people marching for their freedom?

Or do you see thieves reaching for something that doesn't belong to them?

Do you hear people crying?

Or do you see insects who got what they deserve?

Do you defend the past?

Or do you embrace the future?

Do you hate?

Do you love?

Change can't happen unless we change what we believe.

We have to stop believing and start knowing.

What do you believe?

Peace

Daniel J Frey aka Toby

Madness

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There are no words that will stop the madness.

Only through our actions will we gain our rightful protection from fear.

What is at the heart of gun rights madness?

What is the pillar, the rock on which some believe we have an inherent right to kill?

This country, in particular, suffers from this madness the most.

The source of the origin of this madness is nothing new.

No.

It was brought here with the arrival of Europeans to the shores of the Virginias.

It was in the hearts and minds of the Pilgrims.

It is the belief that God, the one and only Christian God, created the White race to dominate the world.

If any other race got in the way of God's will, then it was the duty of White people to put the other races in their place.

It was their duty to kill in God's name.

White people are the chosen judge, jury, and executioners of God.

The source of the origin of the gun rights madness is the belief in White supremacy.

I'm too old now to pull my punches.

It's too late to put a diplomatic spin on madness.

It's time we took the lies by the neck and kicked it out into the spotlight.

This ugliness, this vile evil fostered by timid sociopaths to keep themselves in power, has gone on too long.

Guns are tools of death.

Period.

Not everyone is qualified to work a jackhammer, are they?

They may think they can.

They may believe they can.

But they would be mad to think they could.

Tools do not have an inherent right.

WE, THE PEOPLE, and our rights to peace, happiness, and security —our rights supersede the madness that prioritizes tools over lives.

WE, THE PEOPLE, have to confront our brothers and sisters who believe in the madness of White supremacy.

You can't tell a rock to fly, no matter what you think is best for that rock.

You can't just tell a White racist to grow some compassion because it will never happen.

We have had over 2,000 years of the doctrine of love.

Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

How has that worked out?

It's a slogan that's often forgotten.

100's of millions of people have been killed around the world.

Murdered by White Christians because they knew God is on their side.

If you don't see the correlation between White people killing other races by the millions in history, in the name of their God, from the beginning of the Crusades to today, you have a bag over your head.

Until we confront the foundations of White supremacy that founded this nation, the U.S.A., we will never end the madness of gun violence.

Every Sunday, parishioners in this nation are told there is only one way to God.

They are told there is only one religion that God likes.

They are told there is only one kind of person God likes.

The White, protestant, Christian male.

All others are second-class passengers and are subject to being killed for disobeying White males.

This is the madness that is taught to our children before they can even speak.

This is what they learn in Sunday school.

I know it as a fact because I'm a witness to it.

The supremacy of the White race.

They believe this is true because why would an adult lie to them?

Somewhere, somebody, and it might be us, has to stand up and say no more forever.

Forever!

Drop hate be hope.

Peace

Daniel J Frey aka Toby

Brotherhood

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Equality.

The word the idea of equality strikes fear in many hearts.

Not just racial equality.

No.

But intellectual, cultural, physical, and gender equality also strikes fear.

How could someone be afraid of being equal?

Being equal means I am not unique.

I am not special.

I am not chosen.

I don't get a break.

I'm not first in line.

I am not the best.

No more entitlements.

Notice how there is a lot of "I" in these thoughts?

"I" as opposed to "us."

Human beings are unique, as far as we can tell, in that they can hold two opposing thoughts in their minds at the same time and believe both of them to be true.

I am special; therefore, mankind should serve me.

The rest of humanity was placed on this earth to maintain my position as leader.

If you are so superior, you should be serving mankind, ensuring its happiness, freedom, and justice.

Equality.

Thinking and saying you are the best is a good indication to the herd that you are not.

Our journey to brotherhood has only begun.

It received some good press, including a news announcement back in the 1950s.

Like a voice in the wilderness that echoes between the trees, 'I am a Man' pricked up the ears of those asleep.

Far too many fell asleep after those voices of freedom were taken away from the world's consciousness.

Too many thought the fight was over.

The battle with inhumanity was over.

It was only a round of a fight that has no end.

Fear.

Fear is a terrible thing.

It will make people do terrible things.

Fear will make people deny the truth.

That's why it's such a potent weapon for those who profit from fear.

Realize those who profit from fear it's their only source of income.

They know not of any other trade than fear.

Fear.

Let us trade our fear for compassion.

Let us trade our fear for what love demands of us all.

More.

Love wants us to understand there are no boundaries to its reach.

Love is the future.

Fear no more, my sister, my brother.

We are right by your side together, facing the future together.

Drop hate be hope.

Peace

Daniel J Frey aka Toby