JonathanBenz.com

The Loving Story

I just finished watching The Loving Story, a documentary from HBO. It details the story of the couple whose case went to the US Supreme Court that overturned state laws on interracial marriage in this country.

Richard Loving was white adnd Mildred Loving was of African-American and Native American descent. The Commonwealth of Virginia banished them from the State after they were married.

I was deeply  moved by their story and find it interesting that this was only a little over forty years ago. Also of interest in the documentary was how people used the Bible and religion to fight this couple's relationship and marriage union. 

This is why I believe the Federal Government should have a final say on human rights. If we left it to the popular vote, there could still be anti-miscegenation laws in pockets of this country. We might even still have Jim Crow laws. Sometimes the will of the people does indeed oppress human rights that should be shared by all.

Recent statics show that 1 in 6 marriages in the US are now interracial. We've come a long way in one generation.

 

 

 

Congruence Produces Synergy

In this YouTube broadcast I talk about the principle of congruence producing synergy in our lives and work. From Chapter 7 in Live a Legacy: Spiritual Principles for Strategic Living, available through Balboa Press.

Tragedy or Comedy...Your Choice

Hi All,

Thought for the day… 

“Avoid then the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate God’s omnipotence.” –Alcoholics Anonymous, p 133 The Family Afterward

How much of your own drama do you create in your own mind?

If so,

Perhaps it is time to write a new story.

After all…

You are the author.

What’s it gonna be?

Tragedy or Comedy. 

I adore you.

Keep Shining!

Rabbi Jenny

 

A Blessing of Courage

The word courage comes from the French word coeur, meaning “heart.”

 In many traditions courage is seen as the first of all virtues because it is the quality that flows from the heart, thereby guaranteeing all other virtues.

May you be blessed with:

• The courage to follow your heart.
• The courage to live by your innermost convictions in spite of the criticism of others.
• The courage to stand firm in the face of popular opposition.
• The courage to speak out against injustice.
• The courage to admit when you are wrong.
• The courage to face your fears.
• The courage to accept the things you cannot change.
• The courage to hear and obey the Spirit speaking to yours.
• The courage to live a life of loyalty, commitment, and integrity.
• The courage to love God with all your heart, soul, and strength.
• The courage to love both the loveable and unloveable.
• The courage to lavish on others the love you have so richly received.

 

What is Ash Wednesday?

This is probably the best explanation on Ash Wednesday I've seen yet, done in 2 minutes 20 seconds!

Why I Grieve Whitney

 

I have grieved the death of Whitney Houston. I have had close friends and family say they have grieved her too.

I have grieved her death more so than other celebrities of past years. 

I think the reason we grieve her so is because her humanity was so tangible. We could identify with her humanity in a way that we couldn't with other celebrities and people of renown.

Sometimes people become famous and they don't seem quite as human to us. They seem remote, distant, reclusive, or eccentric. But somehow Whitney didn't seem to become more distant with time and fame; she only became more real and relatable to us.

So today I join with others around the world who remember her voice, her life, her pain, her struggle. We remember and celebrate her because as we do so, we remember and celebrate the complexity of our own humanity. She was one of us.

  

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! A great message on giving from one's heart from Google...