Inspiration

Inspiration arises from many sources and situations. It produces varying results. The thought of being inspired likely brings to mind being moved to positive action and productive endeavors. Some might think about the cost or quality of food available in grocery stores and become inspired to take up gardening. Those with artistic tendencies might see the sunrise, be inspired to take up a brush and create a painting on canvas. Others might look through home decor magazines to be inspired to finally repaint their kitchen after 25 years of it being the same color with the same wallpaper border. Which describes my kitchen but I'm lacking the inspiration to renovate and I'm not seeking it. So far, I've successfully managed to stay away from the magazines with splashy photos of beautiful kitchens. 

 

Sometimes people experience circumstances which inspire them in a negative way. They are lied to or hurt and are inspired to be distrustful of everyone. They see pain and suffering in the world and are inspired to turn away because some situations are overwhelming and seem insurmountable. They see Christians behaving badly and are inspired to have nothing to do with Jesus or his teachings.

 

Inspiration from a spiritual point of view can also have different meanings for different people, but one description is that of being led by what is described as a still small voice. In a noisy world filled with distractions and fear, it is often a challenge to seek out the quiet promptings to: do and be better, be encouraged and be an encouragement, forgive and seek forgiveness.

 

We often think of inspiration as something which suddenly hits us when we least expect it and we instantly have a brilliant new plan or we're led on some exciting adventure. That does happen on occasion. More often inspiration comes because we seek it. We look for the good (or the bad) and we are inspired to respond in the way we have been accustomed to reacting. Being hurt inspires some people to hurt others. It inspires some to help.

 

I encourage all of us to seek the inspiration which comes from looking for the best in situations and in other people. Then when we see injustice, pain or need, let the best of what we know be our guide. Be inspired by quiet prompting to be kind, compassionate and loving in a loud world which needs all the peace and calm we can muster.

Pursuing Blessings

It sometimes seems as though anger, fear and discontent have become the norm in our country. Seemingly everywhere are folks who are looking for someone to blame for just about everything imaginable, from personal issues to the current state of the world. Then there’s the complaining about a multitude of issues: the economy, our rights and even mildly hot weather in the middle of August, for example. And what comes along with all of it is the worry which seems to be pervasive.

 

I often consider all of this in light of the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

 

Many seem to hold liberty as the most important amongst these three, but witnessing some people who are on a near-daily basis worked up and spouting what amounts to hate about chasing what they perceive to be liberty, I wonder what has happened to the pursuit of happiness. What good is freedom if we’re miserable all of the time? What kind of life is worth living if there’s no time for the appreciation of the beauty around us? Shouldn’t a joyful, hopeful outlook be important too? Of faith, hope and love, love is the greatest, but let's not forget that hope also is meant to endure.

I believe Jesus had a plan for us to seek blessings and happiness for ourselves and for others. In perhaps his most famous sermon, Jesus includes the Beatitudes or “declarations of blessedness.” The Beatitudes contain blessings for us when we at our best being pure, merciful and promoting peace and when times are tough during mourning, poverty of spirit and even persecution. I believe Jesus intended for us to pursue a state of blessedness (which by definition means blissfully happy or content) during good times and bad. Personal happiness is a choice. Admittedly sometimes it's easy to choose happiness and sometimes it's not, but as Abraham Lincoln is famously quoted as saying, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Even though there certainly are many situations and circumstances which could be better, I often think how nice it would be if all of us stepped back and took a collective deep breath as a nation and considered the goodness which still exists, rather than everything that’s wrong. I do believe we need to remain vigilant in helping right the wrong which does exist and that there is a certain amount of discontent with the status quo which is necessary to make things better and move forward, but that doesn't mean we have to shout angry, hateful words all of the time. It doesn't mean we have to be disrespectful to our friends and neighbors or elected officials. 

 

Sometimes I think of something my dad would say now and then, and I wish the whole country could hear his calm voice saying, “Just simmer down.”

For followers of Jesus it's time to tone down anger and rhetoric and channel discontent in positive action. Without adding love-based action as an element to our views about society, then all we're doing is setting ourselves and everyone around us up for frustration and unhappiness. Let's count our blessings every day and work hard to be a blessing to others.

Otherness and Unity

I've been considering the recent incident at the Missouri State Fair. I'm sure everyone has heard about it by now. If not, search for "Missouri State Fair Obama Clown," and you'll get an eye-full. Most of the thoughts I have about it have been shared in other places: the state fair is a publicly funded event, not Saturday Night Live; people should have a reasonable expectation of family entertainment at the fair; while politicians have long been the target of satire and punchlines of jokes, this incident crossed a line; etc.

And then there's the matter of racism. Bear with me for a moment, those on both 'sides' of this part of the issue. Let's look at it for a moment.

First, for those who are followers of the teachings of Jesus we simply cannot claim he would approve of racial or ethnic bias. We all agree on that, right? He broke down those barriers by associating with all sorts of folks his Jewish ancestry would have prevented him from doing -- all gentiles, perhaps most notably Samaritans. The New Testament says in Galations 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Jesus did not approve of racial (or any other) bias or means of separating ourselves from one another; unity was one of his most adamant commands.
 
As for the incident in Sedalia, only the people involved directly in the event know their own hearts and whether or not they were racially motivated in their comments or in their reactions. If they say, "Hey, I don't hate black people, I only hate the president," then I'll take their word for it, but anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus needs to take a hard look at that statement and see if it is sound and acceptable. Is it acceptable for Christians to 'hate' those with whom they disagree?

But here's a story about racism which comes to mind as I consider Sedalia. Several years ago my husband and I went on a trip to listen to a well-known Christian speaker. We stayed with a group of people from the church we were attending at the time. In the course of the trip, one member of the group told a joke which was shockingly offensive to me. I have toyed with idea of sharing the punchline so readers will know what I mean, but I just can't do it. The "n" word was not used, but it was entirely inappropriate.

Some in the group laughed more heartily than others, but my husband and I did not laugh and I said, "Don't you think that's racist?"

His reply was flatly, "I'm not a racist." He listed the reasons why he was not: 
- raised in Arkansas and had several 'black friends'
- his mother had 'black friends' 
- a black family had just moved in next door to him and he was glad to have them in the neighborhood

The rest of the trip was uncomfortable. It was the beginning of the end of our association with that church.

I understand the man's defense. He would never partake in activities which are blatantly labeled as racist...no using derogatory terms aimed at another's skin color...no joining of the KKK or endorsing their activities...he even mustered the courage to say he wouldn't 'care' if one of his children married someone of another race, even though he didn't think it would be 'fair' to their children.

But here is what should have been my question to him when he told the joke. "Would you tell that in front of your black neighbors?" 

That's the gist of it for me. I don't know how many people of color were in the stands on the day of the clown incident, but there weren't many we can be certain of that. If the event had been attended by a 'half and half' racial mix, I wonder how many whites would have been uncomfortable egging on the activities and how many blacks would have joined in. Maybe it would have still happened. Probably not to the extent it did, if at all.

The only time I can remember feeling anything close to being set apart in a negative way because of my skin color is when one of my junior high teachers referenced my "swarthy, German skin" in class. He may have been a racist, too, but I just thought he was a jerk and an idiot. (I do have German ancestry -- notice my maiden name -- but probably I have a more complicated ethnic background than I know.)

But for those of us in this country who are 'white,' or in my case like millions of others 'white enough,' we haven't had to live with racial inequality and biases for our whole lives. We approach 'racial sensitivity' from a different perspective. For the crowd at the state fair, racism may have been the furthest thing from their minds because of the context. But would each attendee have cheered as loudly with an African American family sitting next to them?

I hope not, and there's the point. When anyone, of ANY race, feels comfortable talking about 'others' in different ways depending on the color of the skin of those around them, then that is the creeping kind of way we allow differences to affect the way we feel about others. You may not call it racism, but as the gentleman who shared the video about the state fair incident was quoted in The Washington Post as saying, “If you’re a white man in a black mask in a former slaveholding state with a broom lodged in your rectum and you’re playing with your lips, you will be confused with a racist.” 

And the further point is that all of us -- black, white, brown, and everything in between -- we are 'sitting next to each other' in this country. The problems with the economy, with war, with social issues, they affect all of us. If we are to be "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" we must stop allowing our differences to get in the way of working together. 

 

A Correction

I made a mistake yesterday. And I have been reminded of a lesson I thought I had already learned. 

I only discovered the mistake this morning because I was going to blog about something I posted on Facebook yesterday and I was looking for the original link. Why I didn't do this yesterday before posting, I do not know. "I was in a hurry," is the short answer. Not a good answer. 

The article expressed sentiments with which I strongly agree. That is the real answer. The worst possible answer.

Many of us are looking for ways to bolster our beliefs and for ways to share those beliefs with others. I have freely lectured in the past that sharing bogus information is not the way to accomplish those goals. Unless of course we believe sharing half-truths is a good thing, and I hope none of us do believe lying is an acceptable way to make a point. I do not believe in lying to help a cause or spread a message. But negligence is just as bad.

I apologize for not giving due diligence before sharing yesterday. Here is my mistake.

I posted what was purported to be Charley Reese's final column. It was in fact not his final column, but one that he wrote in 1984, then re-worked in 1995. I knew when I posted, I supposed anyway from the context, that the addition at the end of the piece about various taxes would not have been part of his original article, but I did not note that. It was clear to me when I read it that whoever wrote the "introduction" had added that and other information, but I didn't specify that. I had supposed it would be clear to everyone, but that doesn't make my carelessness any more excusable.

The irony is that I had planned to write about how we, as individuals, are responsible for our attitudes and actions, just as Reese describes 545 people — the members of Congress, the president and the nine Supreme Court justices — as being responsible for the U.S.'s domestic problems. Responsibility must infiltrate every corner of what we do and say if we are to be successful, healthy and good citizens.
 
Probably what is worst about the situation, regarding my post yesterday, is that someone monkeyed with Reese's words in the column itself, updating it to make it sound current. Following is a link which reprints (as nearly as I can tell!) the column in question, with a good editor's note which includes:

"The phenomenon [of the column recently making the rounds on Facebook and elsewhere] speaks to the pitfalls of the Internet, but it also speaks to the endurance of the ideas Reese put forth and how strongly they resonate today."

I just flat-out failed to check the facts. Right now I'm sticking a note on my computer monitor with the words "Charley Reese's column," which I hope will serve as a reminder to me for future reference. I want this lesson to be one I learn once and for all.

http://www.gazettenet.com/home/4466081-95/545-column-president-reese

Jesus as Zealot?

I'm finishing up the last couple of days of vacation, a week's worth of staying up late, sleeping in too long and making poor decisions about what I've been eating. My husband and I have worked around the house, I've been checking in on Facebook a little more than usual and have been thinking about what my recent retirement from the Avenue Theatre after 20 years might mean as far as how I spend my "spare" time. I have determined I don't enjoy too much sleep and bad food, so I think I will look for another use of my time. I have a couple of things in mind.  

My anti-social tendencies often lead me to think I might be happiest if I ditched the wired world and real-world social interaction entirely and spent the majority of my free time working on turning our property into the homestead farm Allen and I sometimes discuss. But I also want to be a part of what's best about society and want to do my part to not just complain about what's wrong but attempt to do something about it. I think making small progressive steps toward a more self-sufficient lifestyle while remaining connected to the what's going on around me will be my choice. Striking a balance in all areas of life has long been a goal of mine.

Speaking of balance, during my time off I have had an opportunity to follow the recent flap over Reza Aslan's book “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth," and the question of balance in thinking about the life of Jesus has been on my mind. I have not had an opportunity to read the book, so I can't claim to know all that the author, who is either incidentally or importantly a Muslim depending on who is expressing an opinion, is trying to convey, but I have seen/read some interviews with Aslan, with the one in the following link being especially enlightening to me: http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/08/03/reza-aslan-jesus-zealot/H6cwU1ul2Mk7iUilMBvmVI/story.html

It's short and worth the read, in my opinion. One of the notable exchanges is this:
 
IDEAS: How does your book change our understanding of Jesus or Christianity itself?
ASLAN: I don’t think it does. The core belief of Christianity is that he was both God and man. And if he was also a man, then he must be seen in the context of his time. That doesn’t make him any less a divine figure if you’re a person of faith.

I have no idea if Aslan's views as a (now) Muslim impact his views of Jesus, but his statement here does not present any red flags which I think should be of concern to Christians. 

As for the author's conclusion (from the above referenced interview) that, "We will instead look at Jesus in the world as a deeply political revolutionary figure, radically so, who took on the powers of his time and lost," he is not the first to make such a claim, with Christians numbering among those who have also come to this conclusion. (That statement of his does present a bit more of red flag for me, personally, but it is a concept I have struggled with over the years.)

What I find fascinating is that some -- I'm thinking especially of fundamentalist Christians who are on the right, politically -- who are objecting to Aslan's observations merely because he is a Muslim must surely have arrived, on their own, at the same conclusion he has: Jesus was a deeply political, revolutionary man. What else could explain the use of the name of Jesus to push a political agenda and claim that America is a Christian nation? I think they have some explaining to do if they say don't agree with Aslan on this issue. If they disagree, is it because he is a Muslim and has no "right" to comment on Jesus or is it because they believe Jesus is a peace-loving Savior who cares more about loving others and helping the down-trodden than he does about power and wealth?

Just some thoughts for a Sunday evening....

"What if they're not on our side?"

The Avenue Theatre's summer musical "The King and I" is over. Now is the time for reviewing what went right and wrong and for thinking about lessons learned. One personal observation, and I'm reminded of it every time I work with kids, is I'm glad I'm not a school teacher. It is not a profession I was ever tempted to try and every time I'm around groups of children, I know it's good, for everyone's sake, I did not go down that road. My friends who are educators: God bless you for it. Merely keeping kids corralled for a few minutes at a time is challenge enough for me. That you manage to get them to learn anything at all is fairly astounding, in my opinion.

As a director of community theatre plays and musicals, one of the things I tell my cast members is that the audience is "on their side." When people come to see a community theatre musical typically they either know someone in the cast, they want to enjoy an evening or afternoon of entertainment or perhaps they want to support the arts. In any case, they've spent a few dollars to come see a performance and they want to see the cast do well. If audience members can hear what's going on (something else I continually have to remind casts: project, speak up!) they will most generally leave the theatre happy with the experience.

One evening, I was giving one of my pre-show pep talks prior to a performance. "Remember what I've said before," I told them. "The audience is on your side." One little girl raised her hand. "Yes," I said.

"What if they're not on our side?" she asked. 

I have no idea why she asked it, but I was taken aback by the question. I assured her that, of course, the audience wanted everyone to succeed. But upon reflection I wondered if the sentiment behind it is an undercurrent in society these days. Is that what most of us secretly, or sometimes not so secretly, think? Do we believe individuals as well as whole groups of people are against us? Is that why several of my friends think it's perfectly fine for the federal government to have the capability to listen in on our phone conversations and otherwise invade our privacy? 

Have we been convinced the "whole audience" out there hopes some harm will befall us or that we'll fail? Have labels divided us to a degree so that now we are Americans, but also, somehow, enemies? Democrat/Republican...Christian/Muslim...gay/straight....male/female. Because we are different, we are against each other? No. That is not the case. Jesus did not promote labeling and neither should we. We might have different opinions, but let's not hope for failure for one another. When one of us falls, we are all dragged down a little. Let us find that which unites us and stop focusing on disagreement.

"A Puzzlement"

In Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical "The King and I" they imagine the King of Siam 150 years ago trying to figure out what is his best course of action, trying to understand people, why they behave the way they do and who to trust. Here is a section of the lyrics from the song "A Puzzlement."
 
Shall I join with other nations in alliance? 
If allies are weak, am I not best alone? 
If allies are strong with power to protect me 
Might they not protect me out of all I own?
 
Is a danger to be trusting one another
One will seldom want to do what other wishes
But unless someday somebody trust somebody 
There'll be nothing left on earth excepting fishes
 
There are times I almost think
Nobody sure of what he absolutely know
Everybody find confusion 
In conclusion, he concluded long ago
 
And it puzzle me to learn 
That tho' a man may be in doubt of what he know
Very quickly he will fight  
He'll fight to prove that what he does not know is so
 
Oh, sometimes I think that people going mad 
Ah, sometimes I think that people not so bad  
But no matter what I think, I must go on living life...is a puzzlement  

As I listened to the King in our community theatre production of the show sing those words last night, I thought how it's an ages-old puzzlement about why it is so common for people to "fight to prove that what they do not know is so." Problems, wars and, in recent times, an abundance of Facebook unpleasantness abound which come as a result of refusing to learn the facts about a situation before we speak (or post). 

My prayer today: Even though I will always continue to express my opinion, right or wrong, help me to never be a part of spreading falsehoods and wrong information.