The Gift of Babies...

E.T. Sullivan wrote these words:
"When God wants a great work done in the world
or a great wrong righted,
he goes about it in a very unusual way.
He doesn’t stir up his earthquakes
or send forth his thunderbolts.
Instead, he has a helpless baby born,
perhaps in a simple home of some obscure mother.
And then God puts the idea into the mother's heart,
and she puts it into the baby's mind.
And then God waits.
The greatest forces in the world
are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts.
The greatest forces in the world are babies.”


For the Christian faith...at this time of year...every year...a very big deal is made about the birth of a baby...a very special baby, to be sure...and yet, a baby, nonetheless.

This may be an appropriate time to reflect on the birth of that particular baby in the Middle East some two thousand or so years ago and on the birth of all babies, as well.



With the birth of every baby comes the possibility of
Love and Hope, and Peace, and Grace...
and a Light that dispels the darkness.
The possibility of a Tomorrow.
that is better than Today, and Yesterday.
The possibility that this New Life will
Stop believing the unbelievable…
Stop accepting the unacceptable…
Stop trying to do the undoable…
Stop suffering the insufferable…
Stop tolerating the intolerable…
Stop bearing the unbearable…

In this life, that is a mix of good and bad...sweet and bitter…
ups and downs…birth and death.

In this life that is wild and sneaky,
and messy...sometimes real messy,
each new baby born brings the possibility
that we will begin to turn things around...for the better;
that we will rekindle our graceful inner spirit;
that we will be just a wee-bit more kind to each other.

And why?
Because...
The greatest forces in the world
are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts.
The greatest forces in the world are babies.

Get In Touch...

There's more to us than just what other people see.
We all know that.

Me, I am an old man,
longer in the tooth and shorter on time than ever before.

I move slower than I used to...slower than I would like.
Bending over is not as easy as it once was...back in the day.
I forget things too easily...and wax nostalgic too often.

You don't see it, but in days gone by I ran almost twenty half-marathons and countless 10K races;
I hiked across the Grand Canyon...twice.

You don't see it, but in days gone by I served in the capacity of Pastor for 41 years;
Was a Teaching Assistant in Graduate School;
Taught College Classes in Ethics, Philosophy, and Comparative Religion.

I have succeeded at some things...
Failed at some...Maybe more than some.

But...I am more than all of that stuff.
More than what you see.

And so are you.

Without exception.

There is stuff inside of us that can't be seen...can't be charted or measured.
Its that stuff that all of us would be wise to get in touch with.
Sooner than later.
For better, not for worse.

So...go ahead...Get In Touch.

Get In Touch with:

The Dreamer of the Dream...that is within you.
The Sculptor of the Art...that is within you.
The Breath of the Abundant Life...that is within you.
The Adventurer...that is within you.
The Strength of the Warrior...that is within you.
The Lover of Peace...that is within you.

Get In Touch with:

The Hero...that is within you.
The Friend-to-the-End...that is within you.
The Change-Agent...that is within you.
The Grace and the Compassion...that is within you.
The Truth...the Whole Truth...Nothing but the Truth...that is within you.
The Kingdom...yeah, That Kingdom...that is within you.

And rest assured
That Kingdom thing…
Its not on its way, its already here…
Its not out there somewhere, its inside you somewhere…
Its not for later, its for Now...
Get In Touch with it.

You can do this.
You've got this.
Because there's more to you than just what other people see.
Because what is within you
is more powerful than any suffering, or pain…

any sorrow, or heartbreak
that the world may bring.

Get In Touch with it...
Bring it out...
Let's see what the real You looks like.

One Week From Today...(or, All the Years of Recorded History)

This Monday is a very sad day.
There were two church shootings resulting in death
in America yesterday.
26 lives (half of them children) were lost.
We are a violent people...
and our country is awash in the tools of violence.

However...

One week from today we can celebrate something
very different than what we mourn today.

Let's begin here:

If there is anything clear from All the Years of Recorded History, it is this:

We cannot get along. 

We. Cannot. Get. Along.


We cannot get along because there are two kinds of people in the world: 

Us and Them.
Us...Yes!
Them...No!

Us...Good!
Them...Bad!

Us...Winners!
Them...Losers!

Us...Worth Saving!
Them...Not!


This is The problem...Our Problem!

And, even with all our hopes, wishes, and prayers that this problem will get better,
if it ever does get better, it will most assuredly get worse before that happens.


A recommendation from The Good Book is to  

“Go the second mile, turn the other cheek, love your enemies...”


Another, clearly stated…and to the point…recommendation is to 

“Love God (whom you can’t see), 
and love your neighbor (whom you can see).”


Those are good first steps.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. expanded on this with these words:
“There’s only one rule I know of, babies…you’ve got to be kind.”

And that is an excellent next step.

And after that…well, its just one step after another after another…always forward.

Steps in any other direction only lead backward.

All the Years of Recorded History seem to agree.

However...One Week From Today is November 13th.

And...

November 13th is World Kindness Day...

Patience and Wisdom...

Back in 2009, when I decided to try the blogging thing, I chose the picture below to accompany every posting. I find it a funny photo...also an insightful one.

The picture is titled Patience and Wisdom. The dog is smart to employ both...maybe he has learned from experience.

Eight years into this blogging thing, I decided to address this picture and why it was and still is important to me.

Full disclosure: I am not always in full possession of either Patience or Wisdom. They remain, however, worthy goals.

Here goes...We start with an old story.

Legend teaches that each morning when we wake,
we are given the world to care for. 

And each night as we go to sleep we must return it. 

When we do, The Creator asks us, “What did you do with my world today?
Did you add to it…or diminish it?”

I would suggest that to "add to" this world
You and I need (at least) to be Patient and Wise.


You and I are Patient and Wise...
When we forgive
 and seek forgiveness…even in…
maybe most especially in

our most near and common relationships;
When we let go of resentments…

release grievances and self-pities and jealousies

that only weigh down our souls;
When we release our need to control every outcome…

realize that we cannot control other people…

realize that we can only influence…
and the best way to do that is with love.

You and I are Patient and Wise...
When we choose grace over judgment…

choose mercy over self-justification and entitlement;
When we are able to see beyond our needs and desires…

to perceive our complicity and responsibility

in the basic survival of millions far away

and neighbors nearby;
When we let our light shine…
use the gifts we’ve been given

and take advantage of the opportunities before us;
When we choose gratitude over complaint
peace over disharmony
hope over despair
and life-giving over death-dealing.

You and I are Patient and Wise...
When we cease worrying about what we will become…

and instead are concerned about who we will become;
When we choose carefully those with whom we surround ourselves...
pay attention to that which we pursue with all our heart
all our soul and all our might...
and to what compromises we are willing to make in that pursuit;

When we make those compromises judiciously and sparingly...
because when they all add up
we may become someone we do not recognize;
When we realize the who we will become is determined
in large part not by what we acquire, but by what we give…
mostly by how we give of ourselves;
When we make it a habit to give back to our neighborhood
and our world.


Patience and Wisdom. Yeah, that.

Messy vs. Mercy

Life is messy…
each and every one of us knows that…
first-hand…
up close and personal.


My life is messy.
Your life is messy.
The life of everyone we know is messy.

The messiness of life refuses to be ordered...
Its wild and sneaky

Its almost like it lives in our bones

And makes its home in our gut.


The messiness of life is loud and it doesn't care who hears...
Its screams and shouts

Its groans and laments
.

The more and the longer we live

The messier life gets.

A news article from October of 2015 made mention of the fact that Pope Francis and some of the Catholic bishops were wrestling with issues in Rome. The Pope’s response to the issues they were dealing with, the article said, was that he was promoting "mercy in the messiness of life."

I thought to myself, “Yup. We can all use some of that!”  Some mercy in the messiness of life.

One of the great Jesus sayings about mercy, know as The Beatitudes, might look like this...when set over against the messiness of life as we know it:
When life was messy and I was hungry…you fed me.
When life was messy and I was thirsty…you brought me water.
When life was messy and I was homeless…you gave me a room.
When life was messy and I was in rags…you gave me clothes.
When life was messy and I was on the brink...you pulled me back off the ledge.
When life was messy and I was sick…you sat at my bedside.
When life was messy and I was in prison…you came to visit.
When life was messy and I was fumbling in the dark...you brought the light.



I think the Pope may be on to something transformational
when he stresses the importance of people enacting Mercy in the Messiness of Life. 
Mercy really does have the power to transform
Messy events,
Messy situations,
Messy lives.

Be Happy...Sounds Easy but It Ain't

According to Pharrell Williams, the road to happiness starts when we throw worry under the bus and move on down the road.
Good song.

The Dalai Lama offers two quotes about happiness:
"The Purpose of our lives is to be happy."
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
Good words.

Saint Augustine observed:
"Indeed, man wishes to be happy, even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible."
Good observation.

H.L. Mencken offered this:
"Puritanism. The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."
Good laugh.

It is easy to find lists of all kinds that point the way to happiness.

When I think on the times when I have been most happy...they almost always involve specific places, experiences, feelings, and people.

Go ahead, give it a try: Think of the three or five or dozen times you were most happy.  Are you in touch with the places where this happiness happened? -The experiences taking place? -The feelings you were most aware of? -The people whose company you were sharing?

And so, based only on the facts that I have been around the block a time or two, have been exposed to my fair share of "stuff", and have arrived pretty much intact at the ripe old age of seventy-two...here is a listing of what I suspect moves us closer to being happy than not...taking into account that being happy sounds easy but it ain't.

Try to treat every day as a (good) gift.

When its necessary,  don't be afraid to lean on other people

Practice acceptance: Of Self, of Others, and of Life.

Get in touch with your soul (your essence) regularly.

See the Light (see God) in people.

Let your emotions be your guide, but not your identity.

Leave room in your life for surprises and new possibilities.

Give...but give to give, not to receive.

Let joy lead your forward, not fear.

Do things that are meaningful.

Meditate on things positive, and beautiful, and true.

Don’t confuse making a living with making a life.

Adopt realistic visions of both success and failure.

Accept...even better, embrace...change.

Don’t be afraid to risk or to challenge.

Be aware that everything is temporary.

Invest in yourself...it pays the greatest dividends.

Practice forgiveness...and gratitude, too.

Live only in the present.

A Change of Direction

You've been going in that direction for so long now...it seems like that direction is fate...or karma...or even devilishly- or divinely-directed.

But that direction is not the only direction open to you.
Believe it or not, you can change direction in life.
But it ain't always easy to change direction.

Change takes more steps and more time than we might initially think are needed.
Its those steps and that time that too often keep us from the goal.
That is most unfortunate.

But...don't be too scared of opening a new door...walking a new road...changing your life's direction.

When life is good…and when it is not…Change can happen. 

When things go our way…and when they do not…Change can happen.  

When we are hemmed in by troubles…and when we are not…Change can happen. 

However, Change does require Change.



Pain can be involved in Change.
Loss can be involved in Change.
Still, Change does require Change.

Change may present itself as a possibility in unexpected places where we least expect to find it.
Unexpected places that when we are in them overwhelm our attention.
Change may present itself as a possibility in unexpected times when we would rather think about anything but change.
Unexpected times when we least expect to discover a new path, a new direction, a new purpose.
Change may present itself as a possibility in unexpected people.
Unexpected people who offer a passing comment, a memorable quote, a revealing insight.
And yet, Change does require Change.

If we are here…with our disappointments
But we would like to be there…
We will have to Change Direction.

If we are here…with our incredible burden of guilt
But we would like to be there…
We will have to Change Direction.

If we are here…with our dead-end job, or relationship, or future
But we would like to be there…
We will have to Change Direction.

If we are here…wandering, wondering, floundering, failing
But we would like to be there…
We will have to Change Direction.


Always, Change does require Change.
And we will need to be aware that we can change the things that we can change

but we will have to work at it…

And it most likely will not happen over-night.