Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 10, 2015

THE WORLD AROUND US

14

Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 10, 2015 


NASA’S KEPLER MARKS 1,000TH EXOPLANET DISCOVERY


How many stars like our Sun host planets like our 
Earth? NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope continuously 
monitored more than 150,000 stars beyond our 
solar system, and to date has offered scientists an 
assortment of more than 4,000 candidate planets 
for further study—the 1,000th of which was recently 
verified.

 Using Kepler data, scientists reached this millenary 
milestone after validating that eight more candidates 
spotted by the planet-hunting telescope are, in fact, 
planets. The Kepler team also has added another 
554 candidates to the roll of potential planets, six of 
which are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable 
zone of stars similar to our Sun.

 Three of the newly-validated planets are located 
in their distant suns’ habitable zone, the range of 
distances from the host star where liquid water 
might exist on the surface of an orbiting planet. Of 
the three, two are likely made of rock, like Earth.

 Two of the newly validated planets, Kepler-438b 
and Kepler-442b, are less than 1.5 times the diameter 
of Earth. Kepler-438b, 475 light-years away, is 12 
percent bigger than Earth and orbits its star once 
every 35.2 days. Kepler-442b, 1,100 light-years away, 
is 33 percent bigger than Earth and orbits its star 
once every 112 days.

 “With each new discovery of these small, possibly 
rocky worlds, our confidence strengthens in the 
determination of the true frequency of planets like 
Earth,” said Doug Caldwell, SETI Institute Kepler 
scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett 
Field, California. “The day is on the horizon when 
we’ll know how common temperate, rocky planets 
like Earth are.”

*******

WELCOME TO THE “YEAR OF LIGHT.” On 
20 December 2013, The United Nations (UN) 
General Assembly 68th Session proclaimed 2015 
as the International Year of Light and Light-based 
Technologies (IYL 2015).

 This International Year has been the initiative of a 
large consortium of scientific bodies together with 
UNESCO, and will bring together many different 
stakeholders including scientific societies and unions, 
educational institutions, technology platforms, non-
profit organizations and private sector partners.

 In proclaiming an International Year focusing 
on the topic of light science and its applications, 
the United Nations has recognized the importance 
of raising global awareness about how light-based 
technologies promote sustainable development and 
provide solutions to global challenges in energy, 
education, agriculture, and health.

For more information: 

http://www.light2015.org/Home/About.html

*******

MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY LAUNCHES 
100-INCH OBSERVING PROGRAM. The historic 
100-inch telescope at Mt. Wilson is now available for 
public observing. You and your friends can now look 
at the stars and planets through the same telescope 
used by astronomer Edwin Hubble in the 1920s to 
measure the expansion of the Universe.

 The 100-inch Hooker Telescope, the world’s largest 
from 1917 to 1949, forever altered our understanding 
of the nature and size of the Universe and launched 
a revolution in astronomy that continues through 
today. This world-heritage class instrument, used by 
many of the greatest astronomers of the Twentieth 
Century, is for the first time being made available 
for regular public viewing. For signup information 
and other details, see: http://www.mtwilson.
edu and https://www.facebook.com/pages/
Mount-Wilson-Observatory/313237138799112

 You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@
MtnViewsNews.com. 


“I HATE MY JOB”

OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

“Earn your living through your 
particular gifts, serving the 
community by doing the things 
you love, even though it means 
starting small. Money is the 
fringe benefit of a job you like.” 

--- Author unknown 

It is not surprising to hear reports 
that 80% of all “workers” dislike 
their jobs, and that “jobs” are 
identified as the single greatest 
cause, or contributory factor to sickness or disease in nearly 
80% of the people studied. I don’t know how many Sierra Madre 
workers hate their jobs, but I suspect it is similar to the this study. 

In a 1973 survey in Massachusetts, a special Department of 
Health, Education, and Welfare task force reported that the best 
predictor for heart attack was none of the classic risk factors, but 
rather, the level of one’s job dissatisfaction (Work in America: 
Report of a Special Task Force to the Secretary of Health, 
Education, and Welfare, 1973). It is possible that this finding 
might be related to the observation that heart attacks (in the 
United States and other Western industrialized nations) cluster 
on Monday mornings from 8 to 9 a.m., which is the beginning 
of the work week. [Kolata, 1986; Muller et al., 1987; Rabkin et al., 
1980; Thompson et al., 1992]. 

 We’re not sure how scientific such studies can ever really be, 
but we’re convinced from personal experience, and observation, 
and interviews, that the so-called workplace, and the human 
dynamics of the workplace, are a major culprit when it comes to 
poor health and sickness. 

 There are some of the obvious issues that have been reported 
excessively. Sitting behind a computer terminal all day, staring 
at that screen, your hands in one position. The loud noises 
associated with certain blue-collar jobs. The fumes and toxins 
associated with some manufacturing jobs and farming jobs. The 
repetitive and non-thinking nature of so many service-oriented 
jobs. But beyond these basic points, there is a more fundamental 
issue to look at. In general, these observations apply to someone 
who is working for someone else, not the person who owns or 
runs the business. Why is that? Because it is harder to enjoy a job 
which is essentially fulfilling someone else’s goals. 

WHY DO I DO WHAT I DO EVERY DAY? 

 Do you enjoy your work? No one seriously questions that we 
ought to perform duty in life, and that these duties are required 
to earn the medium of exchange for those things we cannot or 
choose not to make ourselves. But we seem to have taken this to 
a radical extreme. 

 We recall a cartoon from an anti-automobile magazine. Two 
men are driving in a car on a gridlock freeway. The cars are not 
moving. The driver says, “I hate driving, but I need my car to get 
to work.” The passenger says nothing. In the next panel, the two 
men are sitting behind computer terminals in a big office, and 
the first man says, “I hate work, but I need my job to pay for my 
car.” 

 The cartoon was funny, but insightful into the way we have 
chosen to think about our world, and the choices that we have 
come to believe are necessary. 

 That is, if 80% of traditional workplace workers hate their 
jobs, then that is having a profound effect, hour by hour on 
their health. Assuming a 40 hour work week, this means 
(conservatively) that one spends 30 minutes getting ready for 
work, 30 minutes driving to work, 30 minutes driving home, 
30 minutes undressing, and “unwinding.” That equals at least 
10 hours a day, for most people, five days a week, with two days 
“off” to have to do whatever else it is that is important in your life. 

And if you hate whatever it is that you have devoted 50 hours 
a week to, you will very likely spend some of your free-time 
doing things to relax and get-away from what you felt you had 
to do to “pay the bills.” In other words, your “job” under such 
circumstances takes even more from your life than just those 
40 to 50 hours. In essence, a job that we perform becomes our 
very life. We identify with that job, whether or not we like it. It 
is foolhardy in the extreme to not consider “what we do for a 
living” as being a major contributory factor to our health and 
well-being. 

So, now what? 

Work is necessary. Work is good. But how do we get to a place 
where each person is spending the cream of their life promoting 
their own health and well-being, feeling good about what they 
are doing, making their own choices? 

There are many trends in this direction already. Home-schooling 
is one example where parents want to take-back control of their 
child’s education from an educational system that seems to have 
failed in most cases. And though there are many late night TV 
schemes you can buy to work at home and be independent, we 
suggest you switch off the TV and start with yourself. 

 What do you like? What do you like to do? What are you 
good at? Where would you like to spend a good portion of your 
day? What skills do you have which can be improved upon, or 
further developed, so you can turn that interest or skill into a 
profession? That is how you get started. 

 Let’s go one step further. What is your purpose in life? We 
are not referring here to everyone’s ultimate purpose in life. We 
are referring to your individual purpose for embodying on the 
earth. What is your dharmaic destiny? Have you ever asked 
yourself: “What did I come here to do?” 

 If you limit your concern only to “ways I can make money,” 
you might succeed at breaking out of the nine-to-five rat race, 
but you will not yet have risen to the level of fulfilling your 
own dharmaic destiny. As long as one is spending the majority 
of one’s life, time, and Light, at a job that they do not like, it is 
inevitable that your body rebels, and fights back, and explodes 
with occasional bouts of sickness, and flus, and colds, and 
headaches, and disease, until death. 

 Our health in the fullest sense is a factor of what we do, what 
we think, how we use our emotions and feelings. Yes, “we are 
what we eat” is true on both a physical and psychic level, though 
that does not go far enough. Everything we do arises from our 
thinking. This includes whatever work we choose, whatever life 
we pursue. Thus, it has also been said that “We are what we think 
we are,” which is not quite the precision we prefer. We think it is 
more accurate to say: We are what we think. 

 Finding your optimum daily “work” activity is something 
that only you can do for you. You have to work at it. You may not 
hit-upon the all-around ideal best occupation at first, but if you 
have an attitude of willingness to learn, and a feeling of gratitude 
that you can actually pursue your own occupation (in many 
countries of the world today, this is neither legal or practical 
to do, because of the prevailing political, economic, or social 
conditions). 

 It can only help to continually take classes at a local college, 
or even TV classes, and learn more to expand your skills. It can 
only help to take small business classes (via H&R Block or the 
Small Business Administrations, or local colleges). We are not 
in any way suggesting that there is some “magic” in finding the 
ideal occupation for you. We are simply saying that the very act 
of seeking your ideal occupation, and working towards it with 
an uplifting, positive attitude, can have a remarkable influence 
upon your overall mental and physical health. 

 One of the ways to begin pursuing “self-employment” is to 
take a large sheet of paper or poster, and vertically list all your 
skills and talents and interests and work-experience. Then list 
in the columns to the right all the “pros” of each pursuit, and 
all the “cons” to each pursuit. At this stage you might eliminate 
some pursuits because the cons outweigh the pros. In the next 
column, write how you might actually earn an income from 
each skill, talent, or interest. Let it be a brainstorm -- you won’t 
know until you actually get into the field and apply this -- but list 
whatever possible ways you can determine to earn an income 
from each item on your list. Next, check off those skills, or 
talents, or interests which are at a level of competency where you 
could feasibly go out and begin earning an income. 

 Where possible, such a pursuit can be done with other family 
members or close friends and associates. Then you must make a 
decision, and where you know that you do not know something, 
find out! Call people already engaged in the activities you’d 
like to pursue. Ask them questions. In most cases, they will be 
willing to help and answer questions. 

 We again point out that our intent here is not to provide 
“business advice” or “career planning.” But this is an important 
area to personally deal with when you’ve decided to take control 
of your life, and ipso facto, your health. 

 The fact that money permeates our modern life is neither 
“good” nor “bad,” -- but it is something to be reckoned with. It 
has been said that arguments over money is the single greatest 
cause of marriages breaking up, and worry over money is one 
of the biggest ulcer and cancer causes in anyone who deals 
with money as a profession (stock broker, investor, commodity 
broker, etc.). 

 “No man can hope to control his destiny. The best he can 
hope for is to control himself -- ONE SINGLE ACT AT A 
TIME. EACH SINGLE ONE of those acts are like bricks in a 
wall. A wall made of such bricks is a man’s character.” 

-- Anon.

 Obviously, there’s a lot more to be said about this – we’ll come 
back to this in another installment.

 [Nyerges is the author of “How to Survive Anywhere,” “Squatter 
in Los Angeles,” and other books. He can be reached at Box 41834, 
Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or www.ChristopherNyerges.com]

EVERYTHING NEW GETS OLD TOO SOON

I am not one to stay up New Year’s Eve to watch some celebrity drop the ball at 
Times Square at midnight. All year long I have to put up with people dropping 
the ball so I’m not going to make a special effort to watch somebody drop 
another ball.

As for the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and myself we stayed home 
New Year’s Eve and enjoyed our own society. It’s always good to have nothing to do and knowing 
that nobody will stop by and nobody’s going to call us on the phone. A night with the cell phones 
quiet is like a night in the forest. Everybody is out celebrating the end of the old year.

I think everybody has the right to celebrate in his or her own way.

One thing struck both of us as we were reclining and drinking some apple cider tea. Believe me, it’s 
a rare occasion when the same thought invades both of our thinking space at the same time. She 
seems to always know what I’m thinking and I never seem to be thinking.

She looked at me and said, “Do you know what I’ve been thinking?”

Being a husband for as many moons as I have been, I know a trick question when I hear it. Since this 
is the last night of the old year, how do I know she’s not using it to get in one more trick question?

But, it’s the last evening of the old year and so I threw caution to the wind (which actually hit the 
wall) and walked into her question.

“No, what have you been thinking?”

“I’ve just been thinking about how fast time flies.” And then she seemed to stare into space.

She had a good point there. I’m not sure which airline time travels on but it sure does go fast.

While I was musing, which isn’t really that amusing, she then let her thoughts flow.

“Everything new seems to get old too soon. Just as soon as you get something new, in no time it 
becomes old.”

I suspect she was thinking of me when she used the word “old.” I didn’t say it, but I wanted to say, 
“Old is better than dead.” Sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut especially when I’m with 
my wife.

I don’t say this too often, but she had a great point there. It’s like when you buy a brand-new 
automobile at the auto dealer. It’s new when you sign the contract, it’s new when you step into the 
car and smell the freshness, but as soon as you drive it off the lot it’s an old car.

We then started to talk about all the happenings during the past year. Many things happen, some 
bad, some good. Then, for whatever reason, my wife brought out our old family photo album. 
Whatever possessed her to do that I’ll never know nor will I ask.

We began looking at some of the old pictures, but those old pictures were new when they were 
taken.

When we came to our wedding pictures, I was a little shocked. I didn’t know anybody could look 
that young. There we were, a beautiful young bride and a somewhat handsome young groom. The 
only thing we had in common at the time was, we were both young.

Looking at those old pictures, particularly of myself, it hardly seems possible that this old geezer 
staring back at me in the mirror each morning is the same young man in those pictures. Whatever 
happened to that young man?

Then we went through the arrival of children and then grandchildren. They were so young when 
they were born! Look at them now.

As my wife closed the photo album, she asked a very simple question. “I wonder what’s going to 
happen this New Year?” That sure opens up Pandora’s Box.

That’s an excellent question to ponder and only time will tell. Next year at this time we will know 
the answer to that question.

One thought did come to me, but I sure didn’t want to tell her. Certain things a person needs to find 
out for herself. The only thing I’m sure of for this coming New Year is it I’m going to get a little bit 
older, whatever that means. I hope it doesn’t mean I get grouchier or anything like that. Of course, 
I’m probably as grouchy as I’ll ever get or anybody could get. Grouchy gets old real fast. Trust me.

For a few moments, we sat in quiet, musing our own thoughts and if she was on the same wavelength 
as me, she was thinking about how fast our time has gone. You don’t get a second chance to do 
many things in this life.

I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but if I were, I think one New Year’s resolution I 
would make would be, make sure I take advantage of the time and people I have when I have them. 
Appreciate each day and each person because it may be the last time.

I think David might’ve had some thoughts along this line. “I have been young, and now am old; yet 
have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).

I can’t be young again but I can enjoy what God has put in front of me today.

Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 34483. 
He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mail 
jamessnyder2@att.net or website www.jamessnyderministries.com.