Every day I go through the ritual of sweeping my computer; three methods of cleaning it out of those pesky add-ons, creep-ins and potential bug-abouts designed to make my life miserable if they take hold.  And every day they return.  They are persistent, these little annoyances.  Most are seemingly harmless on the surface; just tracking devices that follow my every move through cyberspace.  Given the news headlines, some are probably from the government spying on my private business for my own protection.  I wipe them away and the next time I sweep my system, there they are, again.  They are clever little creatures, persistent in their desire to quietly take over my computer for their own purposes.

We humans are not unlike a computer.  Behind the scenes of our lives are subtle pointers aiming us in directions we initially do not want to go.  They are hidden messages that become imbedded in our minds and, if not purged, will eventually take control.  They do not come dressed as monsters with fangs and wicked yellow eyes, fierce and destructive but as gentle passive beings with no apparent sinister motives.  Innocent voices that make what the spirit knows is evil sound so sweet and delicious until it not only no longer seems wrong but could very well appear to be right.  Immoral becomes moral, filth becomes clean and up is down while down is up.

There is a joke in France about the national symbol, the rooster.  The cock, it is said, is the national symbol of France because it is the only bird that can stand on a pile of dung and crow.  If the hidden messages are not purged from the human mind, it will not be long before they will have control then the person will stand on a pile of filth and proudly declare it utterly beautiful.

Today is my lovely wife's birthday.  I went to all the trouble to get these flowers then realized she told me not to give her flowers anymore.  Something about it being a waste of money.  Sigh.  so I went out and bought a box of chocolates.  Yum, they were delicious but, oops!  Now it is too late to go to the store and buy her something else.  Therefore, I fell back on an old trick, play dumb.  "No, Dear, I have no idea what today might be.  Have a good day at work."  Kiss, kiss.  Whew.  Safe for another year.  Oh and, hey, we have not been talking.  Right?  Hello?  Right???

Today I am haunted by the question of how I remove God from the box into which I have placed Him.  A good sermon will do that to a person.  Oh, God is not truly in my box.  Simply stated; He does not fit in my box nor anyone else’s box.  In the box is my perception of who and what He is.  Now how do I free my mind of the restraints I have imposed on it trying to make God fit into my concept of Him so that I can see Him as He really is?  So I try to work while my eyes drift out the window and my mind refuses to focus on the writing task of the day.  The Box troubles me…

I am working on a Christmas screenplay and was inspired to rewrite an old favorite poem based on a new character I have discovered in Yuletide folklore.  Check out my new Krampus Khristmas page, if you dare.