Memories

Memories

This weekend dad decided to pull out the family photos because our family renunion is around the corner. As I was looking at pictures of myself growing up, I could not help but notice how much I had changed, the lessons I was taught, and how religiously centered I am now. After leaving USM I left a lot of friends behind and I also left a legacy, which to this day lasts in some organizations I helped. It is the “what would Tyler do notion”. My whole life has been dedicated to helping people. The only ting about life is how it shows you the “real world”. Since leaving USm I can count my friends on one hand. It is because of this that I have started a deepening of prayer because I am afraid I am going to loose the thought of “humanity”. I have often considered entering a monastery but some monks decided to fight the battle on the streets and meet their fears head on.

I see the violence of this world and it causes me great pain every time I see it because I have discovered something within me that I wish other people could find. A lot of people have told me that I have touched them in some way and I do not see it. They said I have this uncanny way of showing people that there is hope. I just try to do the right thing. I guess my theological journey is over and the walk in the “real world” begins. I have found a job and will now work on my student loans. Mabye one day I will get a master degree. I was so sad when I left USM. I miss the Choctaw people so much and there are people of other tribes that I miss as well. Most of them have become family. I do not fit in where I am now. I concentrate on philosophy and try to engage in philosophical conversation but I guess the place I live in is not such a place.

I dream of one day going to another country and studying. I want to grab as much knowledge as I can and put it into good use. Some people have taken knowledge and used it for evil. I want to combat that and use it for good. With the knowledge I gain I can go into third world countries and try and make a difference. I am one of those people who want to go into Tibet and save the Tibetan monks who are beaten daily by the Chinese government. I want to go to the Vatican and learn everything I can about my Christian faith. I want to feed the poor, cloth the naked, and teach the faith. I find myself wondering if I would be on the same path knowing the same things in high school as I know now. I Strule on the daily bases, dealing with the fact that I am no longer included in the intellectual spectrum. I write in my journals, I read my books, but what impact am I making. I guess all of this boils down to the fact that my work is not done yet and what road will I be given next. I pray to God that he will pave the way for me to further my education. If it were not for the Catholic Church I do not know where I would be right now. God has been so generous in finding me a job. I hope that he is as generous helping me to further my education.

Tyler Meador
“Because of the diverse conditions of humans, it happens that some acts are virtuous to some people, as appropriate and suitable to them, while the same acts are immoral for others, as inappropriate to them. “
-Saint Thomas Aquinas-

Why Violence?

Why Violence?

O Goddess of the Americas I ask you, with your torch burning bright, why must there be violence?
To the man sitting without a home, I reach out to you with open arms.
To those who have nothing to wear, I will cloth you!
In this land of plenty why must we resort to violence?
I see before me fields of dead soldiers and a land that has lost it rights.
The people starve for a greater day, and you only turn your back…
As a land of freedom, why must we resort to violence?
In a land of free religion and free speech why are people fighting for a “Supreme God”.
O Goddess of the Americas you stand tall with your torch in one had and a proclamation to the poor in the other.
You could feed a third world country and yet you want more.
You could help those who could help their selves but you choose not to.
My knees are bleeding from prayer, my eyes are sore from crying, and what else can I offer?
Will I see hope once again?
Will I see freedom once again?
Will I one day resort to violence? Will I as many other loose their humanity?
I stand before you today as a philosopher, a person of prayer, a person of charity and WILL NOT RESORT TO VIOLANCE!

Dear Friends.

My dear friends I cannot believe in a few weeks that I will be Catholic. I must say that this path is a journey that I will never forget. The bond between God our Father and our ever most Virgin Mary has become stronger. I have found myself being tribute to trials and tribulations on my road into Holy Mother Church. I can say that the church has made me a more pious person and I constantly pray for the utmost humility. I will be taking the name Maxamillian after St. Maximillian Kolbe which was a Saint who harbored artist and other people during WWII in Germany, Soon after St Maxamillian found himself in a concentration camp. Unlike many priests in the camps, he was branded with the purple triangle. Because he harbored artist it was automatically assumed that he was a homosexual under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. During this time it was common for many of the clergy to harbor people because the people during WWII did not want to mess with those in a monastic life. I took at St. Maximillian to always teach me to love all those who society has kicked out and to always be humble in the things I possess.

As I pray my rosary I always ask for prayers of those who are in purgatory, epically those people that have no one to pray for them. I think the fact that I am legally blind was meant to teach me how to endure even when those swell against me. Not only do I have the church to thank for me being who I am today but I was also blessed to have many Native American friends which I believe to be the true people of God. Aba is a name that many Choctaw people use to call the Sun God (this was before the influence of Christianity). Aba is also Aramaic for the term “creator” I see something linking our two religions that many people tend to forget. I also have my friends to thank for giving me the strength to press on. I will always be grateful and know I am always here for you.

Your Humble Servant in Christ,

Tyler Maxamillian Neal Meador.

First and foremost

First and foremost I would like to address the state of education in Mississippi. My dear fellow citizens of the United States of America … It has come to my attention that government no longer wants to support education. If the lack of funding continues in Mississippi, only those who have money will be able to afford an education. Nationally tuition rates keep increasing and college students are not able to afford a proper college education. I was very fortunate to be able to complete my education at USM. I was also very fortunate to have great teachers in high school who never gave up on me. It was because of those opportunities that were presented to me that paved the way for my education. I am afraid that we are turning back the clock on this nation. I can say that I am afraid that one day people will not be able to purchase religious text with the backing of the “freedom of religion” clause because the constitution is being ripped apart. I have many ideas written in journals but they are my personal ideas, I never force them on anyone. I do tend to lean toward a socialist point of view in some cases. I am not too liberal and I am not too conservative. I do see the need to offer places that give people a free education.
Everyone keeps complaining about the crime rate, but have we really done something about it? Have people thought about exposing those in impoverished communities the chance to listen to classical music or better yet teaching them Latin. I do not have this “let’s keep out niggers in place” mentality that sadly to say, that type of thinking is still alive in Mississippi. Yeah its going to be hard to offer an education to people of lower classes because of the damage that has been done. If you tell someone that they are “ghetto” then they will be nothing more than what you treat them. That is the respoce that gang members give as a response to theier officers. As a Catholic I do not see race and I see the need to educate everyone. If nothing else make sure that kids know how to read and write. I can not tell you how many people I have met that can not read or write.
I was told by my doctor that I would never read and write and here I am a college graduate. With the help of my superiors, I am able to think for myself and provide possible solutions for the hard days ahead. You might be thinking “where is the money going to come from”, ITS CALLED VAULENTEER WORK!!!! We in this nation think too much about ourselves, rather than thinking about the whole. Most of you do not have to worry about getting shot in your own house because you live in a safe neighborhood. Many people I have found are quick to not hire those with a Liberal Arts Degree. We are the people that create the ideas that help this nation, WITHOUT EDUCATED PEOPLE THERE WOULD BE NO NATION!!!! I am not forcing you to read what I have put in this blog, but please consider what I have written so that hopefully someone in cyber space will hear my idea and make it into actual reality.

God Bless.
Tyler

We will miss you Chief Martin

Dearest Friends

As we grow we learn many life lessons, many lessons teach us how to be strong, some lessons we learn are for the heart and some are the lessons of life. In my few but what feels like long years on this earth, many friends have come in and out of my life. Some friends have stayed and some have traveled onto other places weather that is the heavenly kingdom, or just traveling the separate roads that life gives us. I am thankful for those friends who have stuck with me and I am thankful for those friends who have traveled on. I thank God all the time for their friendship. As I ponder the reasoning of Chief Martin’s death, I come to understand that people come and go, but we always will meet in the afterlife. I posted a poem not too long ago about a person not being in their grave. It’s an old Native American Prayer:

INDIAN PRAYER
Do not stand at my grave & weep,
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave & cry,
I am not there. I did not die.
- Author Unknown

I never got to deal with Chief Martin but I have come to know many people of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians as friends, family, and people who I find are more complex than people give them credit for. These truly are the people of God. Just like my other friends the Native Americans have come in and out of my life, each one has a place in my heart, and their lessons will always remain there. One of the many things that were taught to me, taught to me by my good friend Doc is that we always respect the dead. I look at the earth so differently after working with these people. I went on to stay with the Kiowa Nation in Oklahoma with my good friend Doug and learned even more. Each tribe I meet helps me to grow. Although I am not Native American, I can say that Native Americans have greatly influenced my religion, philosophy, and general outlook on life.

If anything I wish the soul of Chief Martin peace. I know that his people will come together. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Story is one of adversity and so is the story of the Kiowa Nation. I cannot explain the feeling I got meeting the first Gourd Dancers and dancing on the Kiowa reservation, the birth place of the Gourd Dance. Like many Native Americans I have come to know my friend Doug as not only a teacher, but a friend. If when I die I do not want people to grieve for me but rejoice in the fact that I have went home, home to the holy trinity, and home to lost relatives. I come from a third generation immigrant family and I am proud of that and I know I will meet my Celtic ancestors and drink with them as we celebrate a new beginning in the lord’s kingdom. Chief Martin may your soul always be at peace and know that your legacy will never be forgotten.

Post dedicated to Chief Phillip Martin,
Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indains.

Today we observe the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King

Today we observe the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King. As most of you know I am a strong promoter of non violent protest. I have studied many people, ranging from many different cultures, with one common goal, and that goal is PEACE. The first person I ever studied when it came to non violence was Dr. Martin Luther king and then I went on to study Mahatma Gandhi. Then in 2007 I became a fan of the late Benazir Bhutto who was assonated in the Middle East for her beliefs. I am currently doing a case study of the Muslim religion. I understand that I am Christian, I hold everything that is stated in the Nicene Creed, and I understand I am Catholic, which does not mean I cannot study other cultures and other philosophies of peace. Those of you, who know any moderate Muslims, know they promote peace. I have friends who are Muslim and it has always been my goal not to be ignorant and I think that was the goal of Dr. Martin Luther king. If anything I think Dr. Martin Luther’s king main battle was with “ignorance”. I cannot tell you how much it hurts me when I hear the term “rag head” or the term “nigger”. I am Catholic and I often get called “idol worshiper”.

Most of you who are educated know that this is not the case. I do not fight battles with my fists or with weapons, I use my voice, and we all know the pen is mightier than the sword. Actually the Catholic religion is a big promoter of peace and equality. You will see people from all races and colors in my church. We as Catholics are always educating ourselves on not only the bible but other Christian texts as well, created by the Dr’s of the church so that we can deepen our Christian faith through their knowledge and prayer. My hat goes to everyone mentioned in this post. I can only hope that I can battle ignorance as well as these people. I am a strong promoter of equality. I see neither black nor white! I only see the potential for “humanity”. Those who support racism know that you will not win this fight. Those of us from the new generation will come together and hold hands, red, yellow, black, and white. WE WILL CREATE A BETTER WORLD. I stand on the shoulders of the Woman’s suffrage movement founded by Alice Paul; I stand on the shoulders of Marin Luther King, and on the Shoulders of Benazir Bhutto. May their memory live on in our hearts and may we continue to destroy ignorance and promote education through humanity.

Tyler

All I ask with this post that everyone is respectful and post intelligent replies. The first order for business is the growing concern that our President is and has always been a terrorist. Barack Husain Obama has not nor ever been a terrorist. The part “Husain Obama” is like saying “John Smith” in our culture. The second item for business in this post is addressing the negative reflections on Obama’s idea to close Guantanamo Bay. For those of you that don’t know, that Prison has been a center for extremist thought. Actually it was a major communications area for the Arabian Peninsula. The next question I pose is why many people who are US Citizens must go through extra screening just because they are Muslim?

I a Christian, embrace people of the Muslim faith, my religion, Catholic, promotes peace, even to people of other races and religions. We do not agree with what the extremists are doing. As citizens of the US constitution, the people of the Muslim faith, along with people of other faiths, are endowed to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the Devolvement of the Constitution even people who enter this country have automatically GOD GIVEN RIGHTS. For those of you that don’t know the Muslim religion is a combination of Jewish and Christian beliefs. I understand that it came after the establishment of Christianity but it is still a religion.

I don’t care if you believe a Cheese Sandwich came down and created purple people and wated for aliens to take you away! Even if you believe in that cheese sandwich, you still have God Given rights under our constitution. Granted those who are US citizens receive more rights. This war is another “Vietnam”. I do not believe as a historian that this war can be won. This war somehow tuned into a war over oil. This is not a war over terrarium, which that changed when Obama came into office. For those of you that don’t know “Daddy Bush” owns just about all the oil rights in America. With concern to National Security, I believe that we need to improve security, but do it in a human way. Treat everyone the same, do not separate people WHO ARE US CITIZENS and count them as a threat just because they are Muslim. I say we get everyone from the Middle East.

I say we line these Military people at our borders, and close this Nation tighter than a sardine can. That way if someone does commit an act of terbium, we can take care of that on the spot. Not every Muslim is a terrorist! I sponsor a kid in the Middle East whose parents are suppressed by EXTREMIST Muslims. I would like to end this article with a proclamation of faith. I believe in God, THE FATHER ALMIGHTY, I believe in Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, and our most Holy Ever Virgin Mary. I just accept those of other faiths and will always be a shoulder to cry on and vent to. For everything I believe in please refer to the Nicene Creed, which all of Christianity was based.