Many around the world elect representatives each year to be their voice. In many cases the silent voices depend upon these elected officials to guide them forward into a future of peace, progress and prosperity. With each electoral cycle some names and faces are changed….and we hope that our best interests are always put forward. The enemy of most societies is conflict, division, and hate. It is up to all to extend dialogue to those who feel they are not being heard, forgiveness to those who have made mistakes, and encouragement to the people who make inroads towards unity. No mother wants to lose a son or daughter. Is war an answer? or just a temporary solution to a greater problem?
In the United Sates of America there are many different cultures and religions, yet, many of us look at ourselves as nations within one nation. Why? Perhaps because there are forces at play to keep us apart and separate. If we really want to end racism and hatred in America, why does it have to fall to the common man to initiate the spark? When was the last time we heard any leaders on the evening news put forward a simple plan where representatives of each segment of America could come together for a retreat of a week in harmony and peace, to understand their similarities and differences? This past week the business community had no problem getting together in Switzerland to strike deals, and find ways that they could come together for profit and higher stock market shares. Where are the voices of our leaders to say, “Come my fellow Citizens, let us break bread together to help end the greatest disease this world will ever know….the germs of Hate.”

Hate has become a very profitable enterprise. We have built up infrastructures and businesses around the world that make money from Hate. There are leaders of certain groups that stand on podiums claiming to represent their communities, stating that they are there to stand up for their rights, while on the other hand making no effort to end the seeds that have led to problems. If we do not find ways to break down the barriers that separate us, no matter how much money we throw at the problems, in the long term nothing will ever be solved. Once again, why don’t I hear this night after night on the evening news? God Bless those who are out there trying to build us all a better world…..but when they turn on the television, their frustration must be enormous. I know things move slowly, but this is ridiculous.

So I, in my own little mind, present this plan to any Leader of the Free World, especially that of the President of the United States, the Leaders of the United States Congress, and those of the business world:

First: Put together an annual week-long Summit for the End of Hate. Each race, religion, and state representative sits down at a table and airs out their grievances. This Summit is to be highlighted by all media as a step forward to helping us come together.

Second: A neutral official is to head the summit. A mediator who is an expert in hearing both sides of issues.

Third: Set goals to make “us” and “them” become “We.” Conflicts are laid on the table, with no hidden agendas, for all to see. That way, honesty and trust can grow.

For each person trying to make a difference, there is a corresponding person profiting to keep us apart. For the world to show real intelligence, inroads to the end of violence and hate must be initiated. Hey, I’m no fool here….I know this is going to take time, but it’s got to start somewhere. We need solutions. Here in the United States, whenever there is a problem in the world, we always send a mediator to try to bring sides together. This week I just read that the peace process in Northern Ireland is collapsing. Why? Who knows? But in the United States we have no Summits to bring our people together. We strictly rely upon our religious institutions to handle that monumental task. As much as they try, they cannot be expected to accomplish it all alone.

So I am calling out to the Leadership of not only my country, but of the Free World, to start organizing Summits so we can sit down at tables with no guns in our hands to look across and see each other eye to eye. In the end, all the material wealth in the world will not help us survive, if our hearts carry Hate.

Take the time to Love,

Jennifer Avalon
© 2000 Jennifer Avalon

We all look different. Anywhere you go in the world there is some deviation or change in the way people look. To expect us all to be the same is unrealistic. Why then do so many find it so hard to accept those that are different from themselves? Could God have made a mistake by making us different? not all the same? I don’t think so.

Mankind is a very strange Being….he has no trouble killing that which he finds unacceptable and confusing……but there is one main problem with man’s dilemma. In order to sustain and aspire to a world of peace, man in his great wisdom must find ways to embrace his other brothers and sisters. So what color is the face of God? Could it be that God wants us to find a way to nurture our similarities and respect our differences? The color of a person’s skin should not be the determining factor of the character of their soul. Could it be that God’s face is multicolored? And each one of us represents a different section of His face? Then can it be said, in order to see the face of God, one must be able to integrate all colors into the equation?

Life, to me, is a collection of riddles. Each year we are given a new riddle to solve. Basically, we are all on a mission. The riddles are little signposts to get us to the next stage to help us become better human beings, worthy to one day look into the face of God and understand the who, what, why and where of our lives. There is pain, there is joy, there are tears, there is laughter….somewhere between all this we live. Life is not foolish….it is a learning process. There is a reason for everything.

Each face on this planet deserves to come here. We are all of equal value. It is man that changes that…..

Remember the Rainbow,

Jennifer Avalon
© 2000 Jennifer Avalon

For many of us there are basically two ways to look at Time….short-range or long-range. Both have pros and cons, but in the majority of cases long-term goal-setting will bring about the most success.

In this day and age of the “short-attention span” many find it almost impossible to wait for responses or answers. Let’s take the stock market for example….day-traders dart in and out of stocks as many as twenty times a day. I don’t know about you, but even if some of these decisions go well, the law of averages eventually comes into play. Yes, I know some people have found day-trading very profitable, but others have lost everything. Short-term vision also engulfs our relationships, and world views. A marriage, a friendship, may go through rough spots, but if we were to pull the plug on everything as soon as we experience rough waters, how much would we truly accomplish or gain?
Long-term vision, on the other hand, is not always easy either. Sometimes it involves the “patience of Job.” The interesting point about long-term vision is that it allows you to exhaust the possibilities…..Time in some strange way becomes your friend….you can honestly say “I gave it my best shot.” With reference to the stock market, most people who buy stocks and hold them for long-term have a far better chance of reaping rewards. Can you imagine purchasing Microsoft in 1986…what would you have rather done…sold it 6 months later, or still have it today? Most successful stock investors will tell you, for the average citizen, to hold for the long-term. It’s the best advice. Love doesn’t always run smoothly either, but over time we see the true value and rewards of our relationships.

Short-term, long-term…the choices affect our lives. Yes indeed, patience is a virtue, but if something is truly damaging, cut the ties……but how are we to know when to hold, and when to fold? The best advice I can give, and what I try to live by, is aim long-term, but accept that along the way there are going to be some things to cast aside. In most situations where the short or long decision has to be decided, ask yourself, is the person willing to meet me halfway? And in the case of something like stocks, ask yourself, where do I want to be 5 years from now, not 6 months.

In a world that is obsessed with the “here and now,” the truly Faithful can see beyond tomorrow…..

Look beyond the horizon,

Jennifer Avalon
© 2000 Jennifer Avalon

This week I would like to break down the 24 hour day period, and how and why it has a profound affect on what we do with the time available. I am not writing this to depress people….but I do believe the more we know, reflect, and understand what we do with our lives, the better we will be able to make the changes necessary to improve our quality of life.
This is how it goes:

1) We start out with the basic 24 hours.
2) Deduct from that 8 hours (if you’re lucky) for sleeping
3) Further deduct an extra eight hours for work (9-5), plus 2 hours travel time.
4) Also deduct 1 hour each morning for shower, breakfast, etc.
5) At the end of the day, deduct 1 hour for dinner and cleaning up.

How many hours of personal time for yourself does that leave you with? 4 hours per day.
What I haven’t factored in here is extra time that is needed for maintaining a relationship, caring for children and/or taking care of pets.
These, to me, are conservative estimates. Some would say 4 hours….. are you kidding? But I’m trying to base this on the average.

6) Add to the 4 personal hours per day of the workweek, which is 5 days, Saturday……let’s give ourselves an extra 4 hours, and Sunday, 4 more to that….which brings us to a grand total for the week of 28 personal hours for the week. That’s a grand total of a little more than 1 day a week for things to do for ourselves.

7) It is up to each individual, where need be, to deduct more time for issues such as housecleaning, paying bills, health concerns, car repairs, etc., etc. Each total for each person is unique.

This is the way it is. I know, I didn’t make it this way either…but if I choose to bury my head in the sand, nothing will ever change. It’s not hard to understand how easily we can get overwhelmed with life. So, for that ballpark figure of 28 hours a week of personal time, what we put into it really matters.

Once we get over the shock, what do we do?? We start writing down everything that makes us happy, on paper. We develop a plan to schedule each thing that we want to do for ourselves into those hours. We control those hours. How many more times do we have to hear how “fast” life goes? Once we look at our lives, there are no mysteries.

Each one of us has to ask ourselves, what do we want from our lives? How can we make a difference? Hey, we can pretend that there is an endless supply of time, but deep inside we know there isn’t. So this weekend, if you haven’t already begun, ask yourself, “What do I want from my life?”… Not just for your children, spouse, or friends……but for you.

Time is precious,

Jennifer Avalon
© 2000 Jennifer Avalon

One of the easiest things to do in life is to give up. Game over….finito!! All of the naysayers can line up, stick their noses in your face, and say “See, I told you so…..it won’t work.” There is value to every project undertaken….it is up to each and every one of us to determine that value, and to estimate the amount of effort that is needed and acceptable to fulfill the goal.

Businesses all across the Internet are redefining planning, manufacturing and distribution. This is having a profound affect on how we make, buy, and sell goods. What was once considered as a necessity of operation can, these days, be easily called into question. Everyday I read in the newspapers a new software or component that is changing the industry of their given choice. I being a writer, you can imagine how all of this has also affected the product that I release. While all these changes are taking place, for each person embracing the new technology, there are others becoming disillusioned and upset. Whether we like to admit it or not, in most cases across the board we are all learning to find new ways to reinvent ourselves…..and the things we do for a living.
While all these changes are taking place, the fine line between work and home is evaporating. The nine to five workday can easily be extended to seven or eight at night. The definition of home and work is changing. As you can imagine, this is leaving many in the family with confusion written on their faces. Where the schedules used to follow an even path, they can now contradict each other and clash. Planning becomes essential to preserve tranquility. If you too are struggling with some of these issues, you’re not alone. Many of the letters I receive are filled with thoughts from people trying to find a balance in their lives. The strain can easily lead to giving up.

The family is a unit of people living together within a shield of love. Some are healthier than others….but each family must decide that within their confines they set the rules. Set aside at least one hour a week to sit around the table where everyone has a say in how the structure of family life is sustained and managed. All voices are heard. One member writes down the schedule, while everybody is aware that it is placed somewhere in the home where each morning all members can see it. This way we all know what’s happening that day with everyone. We can share in the joy and be there for the pain. No one feels like giving up.

For those without a family, you too can sit at the table….and if you have a pet, invite them to sit too!!! Plan your week….acknowledge the joy….and your successes. Look for ways to heal. Life never turns out totally the way we want it to…but perhaps with a little better observation we can regain some of the control that we have given away. In the end, we realize that it is those times we didn’t give up, that gave us the greatest rewards.

Don’t give up,

Jennifer Avalon
© 2000 Jennifer Avalon

What’s Bad has become Good, and what’s Good has become Bad. This week I think I’ve seen enough…..Monica Lewinsky talking for an hour on Larry King Live, stating how “hard” it is for her to be a public figure, and a representative of Jenny Craig. Yes, indeed, Monica’s perfectly entitled to go on with her life, but I don’t want any teenager to believe that this is the way to “get ahead” in life. I have friends on both sides…..conservative and liberal…..but both have drawn a line somewhere through this mess. Does it stop there? No. Each day there is something else to see on television or read in the paper….some injustice or catastrophe that is slid under the carpet and passed along as “life as usual.” The bar has been raised so high that a giant could get underneath it! We look around and we wonder why things spiritually are falling apart? The shock factor on television has become nil. I receive letters from many people who have lost faith in not only their politicians, but the law. This is frightening.

Does all this matter? I’m afraid so. It affects each and every one of us, whether we care to admit it or not. Out there tonight someone is trying to raise a family…dealing with issues that their forebearers could not even comprehend. You want to know how bad it is? Ask yourself this….if your great-grandparents were alive today, could they browse through the daily newspaper without the blood draining from their faces? Enough already!!! The saddest thing of all are the people who think that all of this is okay!
How do we change this? It starts from ground zero. Seek out the people in your community, in your neighborhood, who are contributing and trying to pull things up by the bootstraps…..look for the people who sweat. They’re around….in every community…..they just haven’t been highlighted on the evening news. But they are there….believe me. They too have seen enough. If you have a family, embrace it….cuddle it…comfort it…love it. You can never give too much to the people you love. To the Mothers and the Fathers of the world…..my heart goes out to you. I wish you all the blessings of the Lord, and the luck of all the Leprechauns (smile) To the brothers and sisters…..embrace your siblings….be there with a kind smile and a strong voice. A word can have a tremendous echo.

For the Year 2000 let’s look at it as the Starting Point of a Rebuilding of a Society, that has forgotten much and lost its mind. Technology can be a wonderful tool to build a great house.

Be a Builder,

Jennifer Avalon
© 2000 Jennifer Avalon

Everything reverts to numbers…..shapes, sizes, circles and squares…hey, you even have to have the right numbers to win the lottery! Well, also included in this, I’m afraid, is that as the population of the planet increases, so do the value of its numbers decrease. Is the value of family, work, and play worth more today than say ten years ago? Perhaps not.

We all have alot to pack into twenty-four fours a day….some are more successful then others, but boy, I don’t know about you, but for me at the end of each day I still wish I had another two or three hours of extra time. After awhile its easy to feel like a machine punching a time clock, asking yourself, “What’s it all about?” The search for meaning in life, for many, comes up empty, until one day a person decides that it’s time to embark upon a journey to find what this place called earth is all about….and why we are here. As a collective human family, the answers can come easily…but the individual stories….ah…..therein lies the search that many at some point in their lives find themselves on. That’s when we realize we are more than just a number……a sea of faces, where each one has its own story that cries to be heard.

I found, for myself, that I could only go so far until I had to seek out the meaning for my life. Finding inner value became a necessity. I refused to believe that my happiness could only be based upon material things, which I found very temporary, until one day I sat down in a chair, looked up, and said “Please God, help me find the answers.” Not until that moment did I feel myself connected with my spiritual essence. I’ve always looked upon myself as a realist….not somebody who just believes for the sake of believing. I search for evidence. Today as I look around this world I have to believe that there is a reason for everything. I wasn’t born to go to school, find a job, make money, retire, and drop dead. Somewhere in-between all of this is Life. We all have a Life…..a story to pass along.

This globe that we live on spirals through space in a synchronized order with our solar system….mathematics in play, numbers all working together to maintain some kind of order….as one thing swings out, eventually it swings back….the pendulum of Time and Space. Each second has its value, and so does each Life.

Numbers have meaning,

Jennifer Avalon
© 2000 Jennifer Avalon

This is the time of the year where we start looking forward to the Holidays and the dawning of a New Year. My my does the time fly fast! It just seems like yesterday it was September….time moves whether we like it or not. How it is spent eventually lays in our hands.

Sometimes the only way to move forward is to look back…what mistakes have we made? What have we learned? How do we make the value of our days improve? The question that always seems to linger over us at the end of each year is “How much control of my life did I give away?” Many times we assume that someone else knows better….when in reality who knows us better than ourselves? I’m a big believer in the power of prayer, but the power goes two ways….for me, God is there to guide me….but it is up to me to initiate the guidance. I do take responsibility for my life….otherwise, all I will do is to continually blame other people….at some point it stops.

At the start of every year, I always ask myself, “How can I improve the newsletter, the website, and the music that I write?” I, like many, eventually initiate about half of what I’ve wanted to accomplish. It’s very easy to run out of time! Planning each year becomes more and more important. I find myself writing down more in my calendar than ever. Sometimes there is so much scribbled there I can barely read it! What drives me forward? Knowing in my heart I’ve tried to make a difference. For me, the vehicles are the essays, and the music. Some order the CD’s…some implement the content of my essays into their lives…and others do neither. That’s just the way it is. The newsletter reaches sixty-five countries around the world. That’s a lot of ground to cover….a lot of different viewpoints…but that’s what makes the newsletter special to me. These are the things that I review…just to let you know a little bit more about me.

Time is special….Time is precious. Develop your plans for the New Year….put one step forward and movement can be accomplished. To get from point A to point B, it involves simple movement. When I was in school I used to have a fear of doing somersaults, until one day I did it! To this day I cannot believe how fearful I was to tumble. The same applies to each chore we tackle in life.
May your New Year be enlightening, productive, and wondrous, and may you find the tools that you need to build your dreams? May happiness be your friend in 2000.

Happy Holidays,
Jennifer Avalon
© 1999 Jennifer Avalon

In a couple of weeks from now we turn the New Year 2000. I know nothing’s going to happen, all will be as it is….or will it? Does anybody really believe that chaos will reign as we chime in the New Year? Are all our computers prepared? Are all the countries of the world prepared? To many of us, it’s all doom and gloom….but I’ve noticed over the past month some strange things are starting to occur….

Here in New York on New Year’s Eve at least one airplane terminal will be closed for lack of flights…in other words, nobody wants to be in the air when the clock ticks twelve. New York is well known for its New Year’s Eve Extravaganzas, but many celebrations have been canceled for lack of ticket sales. Times Square, I’m sure, will be full….but all New York City police officers have been put on notice that none of them are allowed the last week of the year to take any time off. Is it me? Or do you find that many people seem to, this year, want to get the Holidays over with fast? As we approach Y2K the thought of writing 2000 next to the date seems a little strange, when all of our lives the number 19- felt very comfortable.

I personally don’t believe the world will end, but I do indeed think that the year 2000 is presenting itself as a New Beginning…..hopefully, we can leave behind many of the things that have hurt us individually and as a society. The subconscious is a strange thing….while we deny things on the surface, lurking below can easily be a contradiction. Perhaps inside we ask ourselves, “How would we face chaos?”, even if it doesn’t happen.

Recently I went shopping at my local supermarket. I was looking around the aisles for some instant mashed potatoes….there were none to be found, so I approached the store manager and asked him where I could find my “instant potatoes?” He told me “They were here.” I asked him who “they” were, and he told me, “The Y2K’ers”….they bought up everything in the store that they could simply add water to.” Well, the Y2K’ers, for now, own all of our local store’s instant food.

Each night on the evening news a clock is displayed, ticking down the remaining days to the New Year. The fear, for many, grows. Can it be that we only truly value Life when we are faced with it’s possible demise? In a world that is primarily run on Fear, Greed and Lust, not on Intelligence, a little self-examination is not so bad. Come January 3, 2000, if we all head back to work on that Monday morning, many of us may have a strange look on our faces…realizing not only that the world did not end, but that we are faced with a New Beginning. I believe the world is not a theatrical stage…. that certain events may not happen “on cue”….not to say that they won’t happen….just not when we expect them to.

Enjoy the Holidays….embrace those you love, try to be a better person. If we practice these things, each year the world will become a better place for it. Time doesn’t have to be our enemy….it can be our friend…..

Happy New Year,

Jennifer Avalon
© 1999 Jennifer Avalon

At some point, the “Genie is out of the bottle.” We all know what we need….it’s no mystery. We can plan, train, take courses, but at some point we must take one step forward each day on the road to fulfillment. Mankind, in many cases, is his own or her own worst enemy. In the blink of an eye a person can go from feeling totally fulfilled to being lost. Many times we so easily gravitate to the meaningless and things that are bad for us….while ignoring the keys that unlock the doors of our hearts. Why do things look so complicated, when the answers are always quite simple?

This time of the year we scour the stores, searching for the perfect gift to express how we feel about a loved one…hoping that out there is that one object that can best describe how much we care about someone. This week I watched a two block line of people lining up to purchase their piece of the Pokeman Phenomenon…believing that without it Christmas just would not be the same, while their children gazed on in amazement. Can material things really express our true feelings? Is a diamond really a girl’s best friend? All of these items are temporary. How many of us on a Christmas morning have watched a child play with a toy for fifteen minutes, then disregard it and move on to the next? Yes, we do need to purchase gifts, but we have to be careful not to get too carried away. For some of us, it’s easier to try to buy presents that we think express Love, then to just plain say it.

So how do we help ourselves? Why are we so preoccupied with the temporary? Our needs for inner peace and long-term happiness seem, in many cases, put on the back-burner. Do we really believe that the new car will change our lives? Perhaps what we’re really doing is continuing the process of searching for the answers in the wrong places. Come January, we look back on the holiday season with a stream of bills, wondering where all the money went? Most of it spent on the temporary, with tomorrow never an option. We are left with the age-old dilemma….do we buy for our bodies, or for our souls?

So this holiday season, let’s try to give a gift that lasts more than one day…perhaps a meaningful book, an educational game, or something that inspires the imagination….or a memorable dinner spent with a close friend? One last thing that should always be on our minds is visiting a nursing home or an orphanage where there are many in need of a kind smile or someone to dry a tear. You will not only be helping others, you will be helping yourself.

Simple Gifts,

Jennifer Avalon
© 1999 Jennifer Avalon