Personal Thought

We as people have many different moods. Changing from moment to moment. We must not censor ourselves, or be so easily offended. Sensitivity is a good thing.  It becomes great when it is used to benefit the hearts of others.  This is how we find balance. Without balance, we have not yet achieved responsibility.  Our responsibility to ourselves is to be responsible for others.  In today's world we have lost a sense of humor.  We have lost the ability to forgive or put ourselves in another man's shoes.  We pick and choose who is important to us and most of the time, this decision is based upon fear.  Many times in movies, fear is addressed as a good thing. I disagree.  It restricts us from natural growth.  Growth in our humanity.

 Through my health issues I have learned many things, first, I find myself in a place where I can not stand using the word things.  Yet, many times simplicity is better. To cause another man fear is to cause another man harm.  To live within fear ourselves we accomplish nothing.  Righteousness is an absolute gift, but just like everything else must be chosen.  And most importantly must be applied.  I have seen people who need validation and they achieve this by bullying, lying, deceiving, by trying to intimidate.  Many of these people come in the form of police officers and doctors.  They take an oath to save and protect lives.  But they hide behind the power that is given them to destroy.  To take away safety, to take away lives.  Most of the time, just because they can.

We live in the world of guilty before innocence.  I have experienced this many times and both my wife and I are, as of this moment.  We forget about the sayings that we were taught as children.  Two wrongs don't make a right.  Yet, we hold on to the ignorance of sayings such as where there's smoke there's fire. This is a world that I don't want to live in, but it is a world that I do. It is something that we as people, if we join together, have the ability to stop and change.  I have found the words and actions of others horrifying.  Is it really the strong that prey on the sick and weak? Or is it the weak that do so? My definition of becoming a man and growing as a man is to forgive those.

 But sometimes in life, as I believe no one has ever went a lifetime without experiencing this corruption.  We find ourselves living in fear without control or power.  Misinterpretation is one of the greatest tragedies of this world.

Take it as you will, but I will give you an example, as I will paraphrase.  As people, it is our responsibility to plant seeds. The person or persons we are doing this for, it is their responsibility to accept that gift, to tend to their crops, their heart their spirit, and to grow.  A misinterpretation: Tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye.  And simply as humans we decide to leave this as just that.  Yet that is not how the statement ends.  Again paraphrasing: A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, only a man that lives his life foolishly lives by this path.  Without it being taken in it's full context the message is lost as we manipulate whatever we want to achieve our own answers that benefit us and us alone.

As people we must remove fear from our lives.  To achieve this we must not put fear on another man or let them put it on us.  Today's world there are so many foundations that represent this same exact thing.  As we overlook the obvious and what is in the dark is left in the dark.  It is our responsibility to bring light to all of these problems.

I heard recently that they are choosing a woman to be on the ten dollar bill.  The uproar was quite chaotic.  Does it really matter? Is this really the affirmation or validation that we need? Does it change anything? How fickle we are.  My wife and I were talking about this.  Of course, it is obvious that women were not allowed to have a voice, but is that a choice?  When looking through history, is there a woman that had set themselves apart, that without their words and actions the world may be different than we know today, and of course I mean worse?  And my wife and I came to the conclusion of Rosa Parks.  A woman who did not live her life in fear.  And because of her, this generation's life and world is completely different, and proof that one simple action can change the world for the better for all generations to come.

At some point and time, no matter what our race, we are all minorities.  But what we do as human beings, when righteous, creates a majority.  Most of us have went through the exact same things as the person we may or may not know that is standing right next to us.  Yet somehow, through our rose colored glasses, we say we are different.  The only difference between us and the person standing next to us are the people along the way that change one of these person's life for the better. I am a fighter.  And no, I don't mean literally in violence.  I am a fighter of all things righteous.  I have been fighting for my life for over 15 years.  For some reason, my heart is still beating.  As I've said before, I doubt there are few people that can relate to what I have been through and what I am going through. But that does not mean it is unrelatable.

The word comprehension is lost. It is lost through ignorance.  It is lost through selfishness.  To comprehend is to understand. Do we even take the time to do this?  Do we live in ourself to understand only those things that reflect our lives, that affect our lives, that we are interested in? How could we not be interested in all aspects of humanity?

I have seen people be so jaded, but if hardship comes knocking on a person's door; we overlook as that hardship may have fallen on us just the day before.  Is there not enough time in this world?  Is that not what we were given? There is always enough time.  We find time for what we want, but can we find time for what others need?

A simple kind word.  A small gesture. That could turn into something so large and remarkable, that the snowball effect becomes unparalleled.  I have never found myself lost in the confusion of the difference between right and wrong.  But I have found myself confused by those who are lost in their ability to determine between right and wrong.

So I ask you to think of this: We always know the difference between right and wrong.  There is no gray area in this.  The only time we ever find a gray area is when it applies to us and us alone.  To an individual.  We become lost in he said she said.  We interfere in lives, involving ourself in something that we have no business doing so.  Yet, we idly stand by and watch the destruction of another man because it's none of our business.  This contradiction does not go overlooked.  It's just overpassed.  And to rephrase that we simply pass over.

Those who are sick that can not get medical treatment.  Those who are innocent of crime, but have no legal representation.  This world has been filled with title, fame and money, as the only result of this means to an end is safety.  Safety of physical persecution.  Many of the greatest men to ever walk this earth, had to endure trials and tribulations that we can not possibly fathom.  And many of them had not a dollar to their name.

So please do not take your health or freedom for granted.  Please help those that do not have the ability to get themselves out of a mess that someone else created for them.  An olive branch.  A helping hand.  In my 40 years on this planet, to say the least my life has been tragic.  I have seen the ugliness of this world, but more importantly the ugliness of man.  We often validate ourselves by the power and control that we hold over others.  This has nothing to do with fairness.  This has to do with righteousness or the lack thereof.

Soon I will be sharing a story that will make you understand exactly what I am saying.  A story about my life, about my wife's.  We do not live separate lives, it is our life.  This is something that we have chosen.  The responsibility of another is never overlooked.  Without responsibility, there can be no such thing as love.  It is a very overused word.  As the meaning behind it is determined by each individual.  It is used to make a person look or sound better. When the definition of love for a person is to just be better. It's the only thing that could drive you to do so.

So as I stated; I will be sharing a story shortly.  I have learned that my life unfolds, not just by my own choices, but by the choices of man; the purpose given to me by God.  My destiny that ultimately aligns me with another.  I have seen passiveness, aggressiveness, passive-aggressiveness.   But very seldom have I seen assertiveness, conviction.  We are our own worst enemy.  And in this case, the enemy of my enemy can not be my friend.  With my last question, not only to all of you, but to myself: when something happens so bad caused by man, how could another man help you?  Within this lies fear.  So of course, it comes down to simply God.

In our situation, I will do something openly that I have never done openly.  I have always believed my faith is enough.  But I am asking God to reach down and save myself and my family.  I have been a faithful servant of the Lord since I could remember.  I have believed in my healing; as without this my purpose would be lost and my existence would be in vain.  This is not a proclamation, this is an expectation.  Please do not lose faith in God or each other.  Believe me when I tell you, as I speak the truth, that there is always someone that is going through something that can not be comprehended.  But this is because of their lack of faith and discernment.  Not for God.  Not for other men, but within themselves.  Definition Ignorance.

Take Care and God Bless.


~Joshua Jet Vaughan~


Post Script: I have been called or deemed a warrior, a fighter, a man possessing infinite grace, patience, wisdom, conviction, forgiveness, sympathy, empathy, and I could go on.  I have had people call me an angel, metaphorically and literally.  All of these would be considered great.  All incredible virtues.  I am very hardened, very tough, I am what you would call old school.  A man's man.  We truly can not understand ourself, or others if we have not had a gift taken away.  If it is by our own doing, we still deserve compassion.  If it is by another man's, we deserve redemption.

Through my hardships, because of my health or lack thereof, in my heart, I have been treated with disrespect to that of a child.  Because my health issues are so prominent, I struggle with the battle to walk tall.  As simply, I am broken.  Many times in my life, people have referred to me as being insatiably nice/kind.  In my youth, I had an easier time expressing my appreciation to others and then I went through these unbelievable trials.  For some time I had lost that.  When I met my wife, I had learned or rather was taught, how to speak through my heart again.

I find men having a very difficult time showing appreciation to others in a proper manner, as somehow this can make a man feel less than, not only the man speaking, the man listening, creating a loss of comfort and becoming unresponsive, almost being ashamed.  To be a man, we must be open.  We must be confident.  We must walk softly and speak to others with generosity. My father is an example of the opposite of this.  He is degrading, temperamental, irresponsible.  My mother is the same.  Yet, these two people were the ones that taught me how to grow up and be a man.

I don't know if somewhere along the lines they lost their way, or they had just never found it, and to put it simply were faking it, based upon what they had seen their parents do.  My father is very degrading and disrespectful, very loud and obnoxious, very rude.  He cares nothing of anyone else.  Complains like an infant.  And anything that he does for you, even if not asked, he will hold over your head.  He is 62 years old, soon to be 63.  Because I have seen this, that is one of the realizations that has come upon me to understand that who we are is a choice.  To have dreams and goals, aspirations. To believe in a better future.  This allows us to look back in retrospect, reflect, to grow and change and to give humility, because humility is an incredible gift.

In today's world, speaking our heart is somehow considered feminine and weak. It is nothing of the sort. This stems from love and humility.  I speak of men specifically feeling uncomfortable with soft words.  When I was growing up, if you spoke softly to another male, you would be called gay, or a homo.  We don't use these words like we used to, but we feel just the same. But we must learn how to be all things to all men.  Maybe, just maybe, if we spoke more openly about our heart, through our heart, we could change this type of behavior.  There are so many contradictions.  A woman wants a sensitive man, but also a tough guy.  She wants to be spoken to in a lovely manner, with appreciation and respect.  Men want the same thing.

Compliments are not what I am talking about.  I have always taken compliments with a grain of salt.  They are usually only beneficial to the person speaking them.  But I believe we know the difference when we are paid a true compliment.  This is called discernment.

So it comes back to comprehension and accountability.  To be able to understand and comprehend a man's heart, to be able to speak accordingly, and be able to speak righteously or soundly without judgment or condemnation that we are lacking in our manhood.  If being a man means being shut off, unresponsive, vocalizing our feelings through anger, aggression, through intimidation, so we can feel better about ourselves; being loud has nothing to do with conviction.  No man speaks just one way.  He adapts to the people around him. Holding onto his own character, but understanding the individuals that he is talking to.

Politics is an example of this.  It is juvenile at best.  As I see the presidential candidates come about; they talk as if they know so much, yet they know nothing.  Giving false hope by phrasing their words, by adjusting their facial expressions, so that they can convince others to believe in them.  We all see through lies and ignorance.  Yet, we choose to overlook it and believe what is coming out of their mouth.  When we open up our hearts, we must open up our hearts to everyone.

Every man has an enemy, and every man is an enemy.  Yet, we were not born of this.  Speak softly, but with conviction.  Do your best to make people think, but allow them enough information to come to their own conclusion and make their own decision.  And lastly, let them know who you are through your words and actions that stem through the heart so we can know each other.  And to do this, there is only one way: to know who we are in Christ. Whether you are in a crisis of faith, or simply a crisis, the old saying, the old biblical verse, the hymn: I was lost, but now am found.  Even those who are found, many times become lost.  We must find out way back and help others to do just the same.



There can not be revolution without resolution.