When I was sixteen, I knew everything! When I talked with “old folks” (and that was anyone older than me) it seemed to me that all they wanted to talk about was things that had happened to them. I couldn’t understand why they expected me to listen to all their stories about all of that “old stuff”.
Little did I realize at that time that many of those old person conversations were really teaching experiences aimed at me to help me avoid situations that had caused them problems in their lives. Many times they were showing me ways around problems that had caused them to stumble and fall. But, I already knew everything so--- I thought it would be a waste of my time to listen closely to all that boring stuff.
There was one old person that I listened to. That person was my Grandma. Looking back now, I realize just how many times it took her bop on the side of my head to get my attention and help me put my head back on straight.
It took me many years and many scars before the smarts moved in and I started to realize that those boring stories, the ones I so casually brushed off, were teaching experiences for ME! Often they were showing me how they found rocks in their road of life and how they had overcome them. They were teaching me LIFE and many times I turned that teaching off! Or, maybe I just didn’t realize they were that important.
Today there have been times that I have looked down my nose and criticized today’s kids. Looking back, many of those kids are much like I was. And, I didn’t have to put up with all of today’s “correctness”. Also, few of today’s kids have a Grandma like I had!
Another thing, my teacher could march me out to the coat room, pick up that big paddle hanging from a hook and give me ten swats on my bottom. With closed eyes I still remember the sounds of the giggles from the girls as I walked back into the room with tears still on my cheeks. Many of my learning experiences seem to last a lifetime. I wonder how teachers and Grandmas get the kid’s attention today.
Today I realize that one of my greatest accomplishments has been learning HOW to learn. My greatest blessing is learning! I know that as long as there is a breath in this body there will always be things for me to learn. It’s learning that makes our life exciting!
As I age I have found that some of the things I have learned I tend to forget. Could it be that my hard drive gets full and I have to empty a few things out to make room for more learning? I wonder if forgetting a few things in later life is just as important as learning.
I want you to think about this; have you ever thought to yourself; “ I messed up this time but if it ever happens again, I’ll be ready for it.” That wasn’t a mess-up, it was a learning experience! In life, if we survive, each time that we stumble it is nothing more than another learning experience.
I’ve heard folks say; I try not to have to face things like that or I put things off as long as I can and I’ve heard students say that they were having too much fun that they would go back to school later. Catch-up is a hard game to play, especially when it comes to your education.
Please, make each day a day of learning. Because, the day you learn nothing is a day wasted and those days are too precious to waste.
Here I am nearly seventy years after I thought I knew it all and I’M STILL LEARNING! That should tell you something, it has me! My Grandma, each time she scolded me, would finish with “Bob, you know that you are better than that!” I heard these same words quite a few times but it took me years to learn their true meaning.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Preparation
A lot of people get so “uptight” preparing to die, that they forget how to live. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should never plan ahead but, please never let those “what should I do ifs” become overpowering. Living for each minute of each day is the reason we have to look forward to waking up each morning. Our goal each day should be living THAT day. If it ends up being the day we die, so be it!
Many work so hard preparing that they lose sight of the goal they were preparing for. Much of our life’s preparation ends up in the file we call learning experiences, sometimes they work and then….. If our planning and preparing involves others, discuss it with them, consult with them! Please don’t wait until you have everything “written in stone” to spring it on others. Plan first then prepare!
Husbands and wives often make plans for their other not knowing (or caring) if that other already had that time slot filled with their list of planning and preparation. Often this ends with a tip-toeing situation for both sexes.
In my list of definitions (that sometimes sounds foreign to others) I list planning as something fluid. Something fairly easily changed. I have hundreds of ideas flipping through my brain most of the time. When I find a free moment I pull an idea out and go to work on it. For an example of my kind of planning the idea could be nothing more than what I would like for dinner, or it could be as complex as should I use 2x4’s or 2x6’s for the framework for the lighthouse I’m planning to build in my front yard---sometime maybe. But, each is only an easily changed plan floating in my head!
When I’m preparing for something, it will be a firm happening! It will happen! And, I must be ready for the consequences!
Many times I’ve felt I had things all in hand, then at that last minute the whole thing falls apart! My past instruction to my kids has always been; have a backdoor, build in an alternate. I have found that at times my ways and God’s ways differ. It took me a while to remember that I ended each prayer with “and your Will, will be done”. And, it took still longer to learn to accept that will!
Other times, just a trivial thing messed up my plans. I call these; clashes with “Murphy’s Law”. I’ve had Murphy hand me a new set of law books at the very last minute. In time I’ve learned to allow a little something extra in both my planning and my preparation for my friend Murphy!
For many years I was a wedding photographer. During that time I photographed over a thousand weddings. At first I was surprised at the number of Mothers who referred to their daughter’s wedding as “MY wedding”. I always took that as a warning sign! Several times, after I saw how controlling those Mothers wanted to be at their daughter’s wedding, I would ask that they choose another photographer. Many of those mothers not only wanted to prepare for that wedding, they planned to control it! In preparation they had lost sight of the goal!
Years back I learned the difference between preparing for a situation and trying to control a situation. In all things human you must still leave room for your God to walk beside you.
In planning and preparing the hardest lesson to learn is when to let go. And, we cannot expect God to do all the work!
Many work so hard preparing that they lose sight of the goal they were preparing for. Much of our life’s preparation ends up in the file we call learning experiences, sometimes they work and then….. If our planning and preparing involves others, discuss it with them, consult with them! Please don’t wait until you have everything “written in stone” to spring it on others. Plan first then prepare!
Husbands and wives often make plans for their other not knowing (or caring) if that other already had that time slot filled with their list of planning and preparation. Often this ends with a tip-toeing situation for both sexes.
In my list of definitions (that sometimes sounds foreign to others) I list planning as something fluid. Something fairly easily changed. I have hundreds of ideas flipping through my brain most of the time. When I find a free moment I pull an idea out and go to work on it. For an example of my kind of planning the idea could be nothing more than what I would like for dinner, or it could be as complex as should I use 2x4’s or 2x6’s for the framework for the lighthouse I’m planning to build in my front yard---sometime maybe. But, each is only an easily changed plan floating in my head!
When I’m preparing for something, it will be a firm happening! It will happen! And, I must be ready for the consequences!
Many times I’ve felt I had things all in hand, then at that last minute the whole thing falls apart! My past instruction to my kids has always been; have a backdoor, build in an alternate. I have found that at times my ways and God’s ways differ. It took me a while to remember that I ended each prayer with “and your Will, will be done”. And, it took still longer to learn to accept that will!
Other times, just a trivial thing messed up my plans. I call these; clashes with “Murphy’s Law”. I’ve had Murphy hand me a new set of law books at the very last minute. In time I’ve learned to allow a little something extra in both my planning and my preparation for my friend Murphy!
For many years I was a wedding photographer. During that time I photographed over a thousand weddings. At first I was surprised at the number of Mothers who referred to their daughter’s wedding as “MY wedding”. I always took that as a warning sign! Several times, after I saw how controlling those Mothers wanted to be at their daughter’s wedding, I would ask that they choose another photographer. Many of those mothers not only wanted to prepare for that wedding, they planned to control it! In preparation they had lost sight of the goal!
Years back I learned the difference between preparing for a situation and trying to control a situation. In all things human you must still leave room for your God to walk beside you.
In planning and preparing the hardest lesson to learn is when to let go. And, we cannot expect God to do all the work!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tragedy Too
You may find me referring to the tragedy in Japan in more of my blogs. After each of the unfolding worldly happenings, I find it takes but a short look to find many new things to learn. In many ways each of our own lives runs parallel with the happenings in our world. Our world has its ups and downs just as we do. In days gone by tragedies were only known by word of mouth, later by written word in books and news papers. But, today we sit in our living rooms and only have to press the on button to see history being made, as it is being made.
That on button has caused me to realize just how unimportant and even useless all of our prized “stuff” can become when one is fighting for survival. When I press that on button and see miles and miles of lifeless rubble mixed with those lifeless bodies, it starts me wondering just what part of our lives hold the REAL important part. Could it be that all my prized stuff isn’t that important after all?
In the last blog I listed many ways uncaring folks could justify their uncaring ways about people that they consider different. In this blog we’re going to turn a page and I’m going to list some of the ways I find those brothers and sisters of the world the same. We all have families we care for, we all have our homes, our jobs, our likes and dislikes, each has his own language of his country (although we sometimes feel uncomfortable around someone speaking a language we don’t understand) and each has his or her own beliefs (or should I call it faith), each has their own hopes, joys, and dreams. Probably, each has their own pile of stuff! But maybe the most important thing we ALL must remember is that each and every one is a Child of God. Deep down doesn’t that make us ALL brothers and sisters?
I’ve found deep feelings in my heart, it’s like with each new disaster My Father puts his hands around my heart and gives it a squeeze. Maybe, it’s as I get older it helps me to realize that deep down we’re all family under the skin. Or, could it be my inner spirit talking to me?
I tried to compare the earthquakes and waves to our great terror here on the Gulf Coast, our hurricanes. It has only then that I realized there was one great difference between the two. With the hurricanes we have warnings before they strike. Many times the poor are the ones that take the greatest hits. This gives most of the rest time to flee. With an earthquake and wave the escape time is usually not there. This leaves the bodies of the richest of the rich lying in the rubble alongside the bodies of the poorest of the poor. That kind of disaster plays no favorites!
Each time I see those hundreds and hundreds of new cars that were waiting to be loaded on ships to take them to the dealers on distant shores it helps me realize many of the things I valued just aren’t really that important. It now makes no difference how many cylinders its engine had, how many whistles and bells each had, even its color and last of all how many miles it got on a gallon of gas. Now they all sit there on shore atop each other, nothing more than piles of junk rusting in the mud. They will never again feel that surge of power after the key was turned.
I’ve heard the term “great equalizer”, but it was always a term I never really understood, or paid any attention to, until this tragedy struck. For me, every day since has turned in to be a series of great learning experiences. I now know that often takes our hurts and the hurts of others for us to truly learn.
I just now received another hard squeeze on my heart. As I watched CNN I found them covering some of the many rescues. They were showing a boat returning with several newly found persons, people just pulled from the rubble. A member of the rescue team held out his hand and helped three or four out of the boat. The last person slowly stood up and slowly moved to the edge of the boat then, three of the rescuers almost had to pick her up to lift her out of the boat. The camera moved in and I could see she has an older lady, probably in the late autumn of her life. Then, I saw it; she was clutching an old crooked handled umbrella! Was it the only thing she was able to save? Can you imagine how you would feel if all you had left from your lifetime of work was a worn umbrella?
Did I hear you say you were having a bad day? After the things I’ve seen in the past few days, I don’t think you’ll ever hear me say I’m having a bad day again.
That on button has caused me to realize just how unimportant and even useless all of our prized “stuff” can become when one is fighting for survival. When I press that on button and see miles and miles of lifeless rubble mixed with those lifeless bodies, it starts me wondering just what part of our lives hold the REAL important part. Could it be that all my prized stuff isn’t that important after all?
In the last blog I listed many ways uncaring folks could justify their uncaring ways about people that they consider different. In this blog we’re going to turn a page and I’m going to list some of the ways I find those brothers and sisters of the world the same. We all have families we care for, we all have our homes, our jobs, our likes and dislikes, each has his own language of his country (although we sometimes feel uncomfortable around someone speaking a language we don’t understand) and each has his or her own beliefs (or should I call it faith), each has their own hopes, joys, and dreams. Probably, each has their own pile of stuff! But maybe the most important thing we ALL must remember is that each and every one is a Child of God. Deep down doesn’t that make us ALL brothers and sisters?
I’ve found deep feelings in my heart, it’s like with each new disaster My Father puts his hands around my heart and gives it a squeeze. Maybe, it’s as I get older it helps me to realize that deep down we’re all family under the skin. Or, could it be my inner spirit talking to me?
I tried to compare the earthquakes and waves to our great terror here on the Gulf Coast, our hurricanes. It has only then that I realized there was one great difference between the two. With the hurricanes we have warnings before they strike. Many times the poor are the ones that take the greatest hits. This gives most of the rest time to flee. With an earthquake and wave the escape time is usually not there. This leaves the bodies of the richest of the rich lying in the rubble alongside the bodies of the poorest of the poor. That kind of disaster plays no favorites!
Each time I see those hundreds and hundreds of new cars that were waiting to be loaded on ships to take them to the dealers on distant shores it helps me realize many of the things I valued just aren’t really that important. It now makes no difference how many cylinders its engine had, how many whistles and bells each had, even its color and last of all how many miles it got on a gallon of gas. Now they all sit there on shore atop each other, nothing more than piles of junk rusting in the mud. They will never again feel that surge of power after the key was turned.
I’ve heard the term “great equalizer”, but it was always a term I never really understood, or paid any attention to, until this tragedy struck. For me, every day since has turned in to be a series of great learning experiences. I now know that often takes our hurts and the hurts of others for us to truly learn.
I just now received another hard squeeze on my heart. As I watched CNN I found them covering some of the many rescues. They were showing a boat returning with several newly found persons, people just pulled from the rubble. A member of the rescue team held out his hand and helped three or four out of the boat. The last person slowly stood up and slowly moved to the edge of the boat then, three of the rescuers almost had to pick her up to lift her out of the boat. The camera moved in and I could see she has an older lady, probably in the late autumn of her life. Then, I saw it; she was clutching an old crooked handled umbrella! Was it the only thing she was able to save? Can you imagine how you would feel if all you had left from your lifetime of work was a worn umbrella?
Did I hear you say you were having a bad day? After the things I’ve seen in the past few days, I don’t think you’ll ever hear me say I’m having a bad day again.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Armageddon
In most religions you will find a reference to terrible end of the world. In the Christian religion it’s called the Armageddon. In the days when most holy books the world were written, it was thought the world was a much smaller place. My personal belief is the end of the world will be a regional happening. An example of what I believe is the recent earthquake in Japan. In that example we find it to be the end of the world for thousands of people, through no fault of their own, that happened in less than an hour. That mighty wall of water, caused by the quake, did not pick or choose who was to live or die. It did not ask if a person was of great wealth or if they were a poor homeless person. It took everyone!
From the instant we were conceived our only true promise was that we would die. Seldom is it to be the time or way of our choosing. But, in many of our holy books we find that we are told or threatened that it must happen.
This time it happened “over there”. It happened to “them”. But, they’re different than us! They talk funny! They go to a different kind of church! It is really too bad. It is such a shame.---What are we going to have for our evening meal? Do you think all that bad news is going to mess up my favorite TV shows tonight? I wish I could do something for all of those poor people but---Thank God it was them not us. If I think about it, I’ll say a prayer for them before I go to bed.
Let’s put the shoe on the other foot. Let’s visualize what would happen if it happened in MY neighborhood. I’m sitting watching my TV, all of a sudden the screen flickers and then it goes black. Then the lights go out. What’s all that noise? I walk to my front door and look out. I see several of my neighbors also looking out their doors.
It seems we all see it at the same time. It’s a solid wall of water treetop high! It’s crushing everything in its path! I could see my neighbor up the street. He was mouthing the words “O SHI” he never finished that last word before both he and his house were crushed!
As I looked I could read my next neighbors lips, as she was crossing herself, her words were “forgive me Father for I”. She never had that chance to finish! As I watched, that mighty wall of water struck! The only survivor was my unseen Friend who always walked beside me. I was sure He would still be there when I got there!
I’m sure that there were many that had last words on their lips like; would have or should have, but now they were just fellow travelers on a short journey. And that was a journey that was dictated by a mighty wall of water.
When our end of the world comes, and we’ve been promised it will, it does not matter what we want to call it.
As I looked at that massive wall of water rolling across those cities in Japan I thought to myself; how important many felt about their accumulated stuff had been to them and as I looked I saw all those lifeless bodies rolling in waves of lifeless stuff. I realize how unimportant all of our precious stuff can become in little more than a blink of our eye!
How differently we would feel about waterfront property if we realized it was only there so we would have a bird’s eye view of our coming doom.
Don’t always think it can only happen to “THEM”. Sooner or later it could happen to “US”. And, it’s later than you think!
From the instant we were conceived our only true promise was that we would die. Seldom is it to be the time or way of our choosing. But, in many of our holy books we find that we are told or threatened that it must happen.
This time it happened “over there”. It happened to “them”. But, they’re different than us! They talk funny! They go to a different kind of church! It is really too bad. It is such a shame.---What are we going to have for our evening meal? Do you think all that bad news is going to mess up my favorite TV shows tonight? I wish I could do something for all of those poor people but---Thank God it was them not us. If I think about it, I’ll say a prayer for them before I go to bed.
Let’s put the shoe on the other foot. Let’s visualize what would happen if it happened in MY neighborhood. I’m sitting watching my TV, all of a sudden the screen flickers and then it goes black. Then the lights go out. What’s all that noise? I walk to my front door and look out. I see several of my neighbors also looking out their doors.
It seems we all see it at the same time. It’s a solid wall of water treetop high! It’s crushing everything in its path! I could see my neighbor up the street. He was mouthing the words “O SHI” he never finished that last word before both he and his house were crushed!
As I looked I could read my next neighbors lips, as she was crossing herself, her words were “forgive me Father for I”. She never had that chance to finish! As I watched, that mighty wall of water struck! The only survivor was my unseen Friend who always walked beside me. I was sure He would still be there when I got there!
I’m sure that there were many that had last words on their lips like; would have or should have, but now they were just fellow travelers on a short journey. And that was a journey that was dictated by a mighty wall of water.
When our end of the world comes, and we’ve been promised it will, it does not matter what we want to call it.
As I looked at that massive wall of water rolling across those cities in Japan I thought to myself; how important many felt about their accumulated stuff had been to them and as I looked I saw all those lifeless bodies rolling in waves of lifeless stuff. I realize how unimportant all of our precious stuff can become in little more than a blink of our eye!
How differently we would feel about waterfront property if we realized it was only there so we would have a bird’s eye view of our coming doom.
Don’t always think it can only happen to “THEM”. Sooner or later it could happen to “US”. And, it’s later than you think!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Darkness and Light
In the past, I heard a speaker say; “In all darkness there is always some light.” That’s pretty strong stuff and it started me thinking.
I my darkest days, it seemed I could always find a glimmer of light. Maybe it was just a small bit of hope but I found that I never could completely close the door on that last bit of hope.
One of my favorite songs goes something like this; “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” As long as I have a spark of hope I’m gonna let it shine!
I have never had the financial means to help a person that way but I have found it takes nothing more than my time to listen. Many times I’ve heard people say if only they could have had SOMEONE to talk to or someone just to listen to them they could have talked those hurts out of their system. Well, maybe you or I could have been that someone! Did I hear someone say they just didn’t have the time to stop and listen? What was so urgent in YOUR life that you could not take a moment or two to help another person through those dark times?
Sometimes we find ourselves holding our plate of troubles that is full and running over. At times like that it is easy to forget about That Friend that is always by your side. Remember Him, hand Him that full plate and ask for a clean one. He is far more experienced handling our troubles than we are. That is what I do.
Most of our darkest problems started as yesterday’s problems. If we stew about them they will spoil today and probably also many tomorrows as well.
It seems to me that many times we only have to look the other way to find all of the good things Our Father in Heaven has put in our lives. I believe if we would look as hard for the good things in life as we do the bad it would be easier to put our life back in balance.
Our society and our lifestyle is continually trying to “brain wash” us, teaching us to look first to the dark side of life. We seldom see the GOOD side of the news making the headlines. When we turn on the TV, more often than not all we and the kids see is one tragedy after another. They want us to believe we live in a negative world!
It seems the commercial world is more and more afraid of the positives. Even in the ads for healing drugs, if you listen closely, they tell you about all of the bad things that could happen if you take them. If the cure is that risky, why bother? I want to live my life without having to hear all of those could haves.
When my Grandma used to scold me when I‘d done something wrong, she would often say “Bob, you are better than that”. Today the things I read and hear help me realize what she was telling me. For much of that stuff I KNOW I’M BETTER THAN THAT!
I want to let my light shine. I don’t want someone I will never know or see to keep pulling that negative shade of darkness over my life. In this world of darkness, I want to let this little light of mine SHINE!
I my darkest days, it seemed I could always find a glimmer of light. Maybe it was just a small bit of hope but I found that I never could completely close the door on that last bit of hope.
One of my favorite songs goes something like this; “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” As long as I have a spark of hope I’m gonna let it shine!
I have never had the financial means to help a person that way but I have found it takes nothing more than my time to listen. Many times I’ve heard people say if only they could have had SOMEONE to talk to or someone just to listen to them they could have talked those hurts out of their system. Well, maybe you or I could have been that someone! Did I hear someone say they just didn’t have the time to stop and listen? What was so urgent in YOUR life that you could not take a moment or two to help another person through those dark times?
Sometimes we find ourselves holding our plate of troubles that is full and running over. At times like that it is easy to forget about That Friend that is always by your side. Remember Him, hand Him that full plate and ask for a clean one. He is far more experienced handling our troubles than we are. That is what I do.
Most of our darkest problems started as yesterday’s problems. If we stew about them they will spoil today and probably also many tomorrows as well.
It seems to me that many times we only have to look the other way to find all of the good things Our Father in Heaven has put in our lives. I believe if we would look as hard for the good things in life as we do the bad it would be easier to put our life back in balance.
Our society and our lifestyle is continually trying to “brain wash” us, teaching us to look first to the dark side of life. We seldom see the GOOD side of the news making the headlines. When we turn on the TV, more often than not all we and the kids see is one tragedy after another. They want us to believe we live in a negative world!
It seems the commercial world is more and more afraid of the positives. Even in the ads for healing drugs, if you listen closely, they tell you about all of the bad things that could happen if you take them. If the cure is that risky, why bother? I want to live my life without having to hear all of those could haves.
When my Grandma used to scold me when I‘d done something wrong, she would often say “Bob, you are better than that”. Today the things I read and hear help me realize what she was telling me. For much of that stuff I KNOW I’M BETTER THAN THAT!
I want to let my light shine. I don’t want someone I will never know or see to keep pulling that negative shade of darkness over my life. In this world of darkness, I want to let this little light of mine SHINE!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
I'm Preparing
Sometimes when people talk to me they think my hearing is getting worse. In reality I’m preparing, I’m just deep in thought. While in deep thought sometimes it’s hard to let another thought break in.
Some people would say that they’re just “getting their ducks in a row”. They are just trying to put their thoughts and or their lives in order so that they can face the coming minute, hour, day, week, year, or even their lifetime.
For me, I find that when I’m thinking those “everyday thoughts” they are easy for others to break into. But, when I’m working on that “really deep stuff”, I’m hard to break into. That’s when I have a case of what I call “funnel vision”. My entire thinking process is pointed in that one direction! My walls of thought are very thick making them hard to penetrate from the outside.
Years ago I built a greenhouse on the side of the building I call the shed. Over the years it fell into disrepair. Last year I started fixing it up. Inside I built a small gurgling fountain and outside I replaced the badly discolored plastic panels with windows others had discarded. It was only then that I realized I had created a “quiet place”.
It had turned out to be a place I could walk into, close the door and leave the rest of the world on the outside. I had changed the old greenhouse into my preparing place, a place for me to think my thoughts and make my plans. As a bonus, I found it to be an excellent place to talk with my Friend, my Father in Heaven. It has turned into a place where thoughts and ideas come easier.
For many years I found myself continually running headlong into corners. I had many great ideas but I jumped into them before I took into consideration the costs and needs. For each great idea God puts stumbling blocks in its path. The ones that fall and then stand back up and then keep going are the ones that succeed. The ones that say I tried that and it didn’t work so I quit, they’re the ones that failed.
For me, ideas just keep coming. My joy is figuring out how to make them work after that they become boring for me and there is always a new and more exciting idea waiting to take its place.
I guess I need a sign to hang around my neck that says “I’m preparing-Please do not disturb”.
I’ve had different people tell me that they wanted “piece of mind’ or that they “were trying to put their thoughts together” or they wish “they could think straight”. Were they really telling me they only were trying to put their lives in order?
I’ve had people tell me they wished they could live a quieter more simple life. One of the ways could be to turn off the TV. That on switch is also an off switch! Also we have no need for background music for every step of our lives. We don’t need someone at our elbow each waking moment. We need to turn off the rest of the world, to find our own quiet place, a place we can “think for ourselves”. We need a place to give the world a chance to get in step with US. We can make our world a wonderful world. O Yeah!
Some people would say that they’re just “getting their ducks in a row”. They are just trying to put their thoughts and or their lives in order so that they can face the coming minute, hour, day, week, year, or even their lifetime.
For me, I find that when I’m thinking those “everyday thoughts” they are easy for others to break into. But, when I’m working on that “really deep stuff”, I’m hard to break into. That’s when I have a case of what I call “funnel vision”. My entire thinking process is pointed in that one direction! My walls of thought are very thick making them hard to penetrate from the outside.
Years ago I built a greenhouse on the side of the building I call the shed. Over the years it fell into disrepair. Last year I started fixing it up. Inside I built a small gurgling fountain and outside I replaced the badly discolored plastic panels with windows others had discarded. It was only then that I realized I had created a “quiet place”.
It had turned out to be a place I could walk into, close the door and leave the rest of the world on the outside. I had changed the old greenhouse into my preparing place, a place for me to think my thoughts and make my plans. As a bonus, I found it to be an excellent place to talk with my Friend, my Father in Heaven. It has turned into a place where thoughts and ideas come easier.
For many years I found myself continually running headlong into corners. I had many great ideas but I jumped into them before I took into consideration the costs and needs. For each great idea God puts stumbling blocks in its path. The ones that fall and then stand back up and then keep going are the ones that succeed. The ones that say I tried that and it didn’t work so I quit, they’re the ones that failed.
For me, ideas just keep coming. My joy is figuring out how to make them work after that they become boring for me and there is always a new and more exciting idea waiting to take its place.
I guess I need a sign to hang around my neck that says “I’m preparing-Please do not disturb”.
I’ve had different people tell me that they wanted “piece of mind’ or that they “were trying to put their thoughts together” or they wish “they could think straight”. Were they really telling me they only were trying to put their lives in order?
I’ve had people tell me they wished they could live a quieter more simple life. One of the ways could be to turn off the TV. That on switch is also an off switch! Also we have no need for background music for every step of our lives. We don’t need someone at our elbow each waking moment. We need to turn off the rest of the world, to find our own quiet place, a place we can “think for ourselves”. We need a place to give the world a chance to get in step with US. We can make our world a wonderful world. O Yeah!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
One Hundred Percent
Again it happened, as I was listening to CNN I received one of those open my heart messages. I have no idea who said it or what the program was about but this one line shouted to me that this was to be my next blog; “You cannot play every roll one hundred percent!”
Many times I’ve had people say to me “Give it your one hundred percent”. I’m sorry but one hundred percent just doesn’t live in this body!
As I look back on my growing up years and think about my Mother (who did not have an “outside job”) I can remember how fixed our lives were at that time. If I would do things “out of reason” my mother always had my Grand Ma to fall back on and she had my Great Grand Ma as her back up until she passed away.
Life was very routine at that time. I always knew it was Monday because behind every house stood several clothes lines and on Monday (wash day) all the clothes would be hung out to dry. Our underwear was always hung on the inside line because it was never hung for others to see!
Tuesday was always ironing day. That day I could always find piles of freshly ironed clothes neatly stacked on the living room furniture. She even ironed my underwear! Every piece was “put away” before supper.
Each day had that day’s chores as if they had been written in stone! I believe they were followed more closely than the Ten Commandments.
Every day, after school, it was always homework first and no play until it has finished. My spelling was always checked again before school. If I misspelled a word that meant I would have to get up fifteen minutes early to practice my spelling!
Thinking back I’m sure that if you would have listed the occupation of every lady, within two blocks of my home, it would have been “house wife”. Most would have had a hard time reaching that hundred percent goal but I think most tried.
Then along came World War Two and when it was over we suddenly found both Moms and Dads had to work to make “ends meet”. Look at all that great new stuff there was in the stores. And Mom really needs her own car because she doesn’t work the same hours as Dad.
When I returned from service I made up my mind that, if I had kids, they would never have as rough of a life as I had. What a mistake! If I could have just given my kids the love and supervision I had when I was growing up. To give them what I thought they needed and while trying to keep them from having it as rough as I had it had forced both my wife and me to work, sometimes two or three jobs for me.
All of a sudden Mom, who was still expected to be a house wife, was also expected to hold down a full time job. Now, she was expected to play two rolls that meant that at the best she only had fifty percent for each! Think what has happened to those kids with both Mom and Dad working full time, who is going to help them with their spelling?
If each of us is expected to put out that hundred percent on each roll we are playing what does that leave for us, you and me? Maybe I’m selfish, but I would like a few crumbs of that hundred percent just for me. No role playing, just a small amount of love and joy for me. It isn’t important to me if I live up to the expectations of others. It’s important to me to live up to my expectations of me. You can bet I’m not very worried about percentage points, either!
Many times I’ve had people say to me “Give it your one hundred percent”. I’m sorry but one hundred percent just doesn’t live in this body!
As I look back on my growing up years and think about my Mother (who did not have an “outside job”) I can remember how fixed our lives were at that time. If I would do things “out of reason” my mother always had my Grand Ma to fall back on and she had my Great Grand Ma as her back up until she passed away.
Life was very routine at that time. I always knew it was Monday because behind every house stood several clothes lines and on Monday (wash day) all the clothes would be hung out to dry. Our underwear was always hung on the inside line because it was never hung for others to see!
Tuesday was always ironing day. That day I could always find piles of freshly ironed clothes neatly stacked on the living room furniture. She even ironed my underwear! Every piece was “put away” before supper.
Each day had that day’s chores as if they had been written in stone! I believe they were followed more closely than the Ten Commandments.
Every day, after school, it was always homework first and no play until it has finished. My spelling was always checked again before school. If I misspelled a word that meant I would have to get up fifteen minutes early to practice my spelling!
Thinking back I’m sure that if you would have listed the occupation of every lady, within two blocks of my home, it would have been “house wife”. Most would have had a hard time reaching that hundred percent goal but I think most tried.
Then along came World War Two and when it was over we suddenly found both Moms and Dads had to work to make “ends meet”. Look at all that great new stuff there was in the stores. And Mom really needs her own car because she doesn’t work the same hours as Dad.
When I returned from service I made up my mind that, if I had kids, they would never have as rough of a life as I had. What a mistake! If I could have just given my kids the love and supervision I had when I was growing up. To give them what I thought they needed and while trying to keep them from having it as rough as I had it had forced both my wife and me to work, sometimes two or three jobs for me.
All of a sudden Mom, who was still expected to be a house wife, was also expected to hold down a full time job. Now, she was expected to play two rolls that meant that at the best she only had fifty percent for each! Think what has happened to those kids with both Mom and Dad working full time, who is going to help them with their spelling?
If each of us is expected to put out that hundred percent on each roll we are playing what does that leave for us, you and me? Maybe I’m selfish, but I would like a few crumbs of that hundred percent just for me. No role playing, just a small amount of love and joy for me. It isn’t important to me if I live up to the expectations of others. It’s important to me to live up to my expectations of me. You can bet I’m not very worried about percentage points, either!
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