Life's Direction

I understand why so many people want to hide away from the world and not seek to be aware of the ills of society. There are big problems 'out there,' overwhelming conditions, situations seemingly beyond our control. For most of us -- those who will likely read this post -- home is safe. Home is good. Home is where we don't have to think about how what we do affects those unknown masses around us. We can live in a cocoon of protection. 

I believe it is not apathy or indifference which most often keeps us from trying to do more than we do. Most of us care a great deal about others, about the world. We want to make a difference. My theory is it is more usually a vague fear of not being able to do enough. We think we will do something small and it will be insignificant. Or maybe we'll try to do something big and we'll fall flat. People might even make fun of us for making an attempt.

On days like today, when the leaves are various shades of perfection and the view outside my window is about as heavenly as I can imagine, it's easy to not think about problems, far and near, about the future of our country or our planet. Here and now is enough. Perhaps my family is all I need. I consider sinking into isolation and just being still. But then I think about my daughter and her children and the world they'll be living in when I'm gone. Will it be worse than now? Can it be better?

Not everyone is wired the same way. A quiet life of reflection and living at peace with others is a good life. For some, that is how they change the world. It is not for any of us to judge what is the right course, what is the best way for anyone else. What I know for myself is at this point in my life I can't unknow the things I've discovered. I can't stop thinking about how maybe I can help change things for the better.

So, I suppose what I'm saying is this. I'm not shy about giving advice, but when I sound preachy, when I write about what Jesus would do or what our obligation is to the world, I hope anyone who reads my rambling will frame it in the way which is best for individual circumstances. None of us know what is the best course for others, certainly I don't. Sometimes I don't even know if what I'm doing is the best course for me!

But any hesitation I'm feeling this morning will pass, I'm sure. Be looking for a couple of  announcements which will be coming in the weeks ahead. One thing is something fun a friend and I are thinking about doing and another is something pretty crazy I'm planning to do. It's a big venture, it will require lots of help and I'm hoping maybe some of you will want to go along for the ride.

What Is Right With People?

What is wrong with people? They are loud and obnoxious. Their phone manners are terrible, especially now that cell phones intrude everywhere. Their driving habits are infuriating. They seem determined to be disagreeable and their goal must be to make us unhappy. Sound a little familiar?

Of course in laying out those complaints, the question should be turned around to ask, “What is wrong with ME?” Because when it comes to talking about people, “they” are “us.” (Or "we" to be grammatically correct.) For every behavior by those around us which annoys and irritates, we are inflicting some irksome behavior (maybe several!) on others. Even for the most saintly among us, everyone is likely making someone else’s life less enjoyable than it could be. There is always room for improvement and the improvement lies within the rule called golden, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

We’re all in it together, this imperfect and sometimes downright crazy world. Our lives are intertwined and connected. Sometimes we have a bad day. Sometimes we have a long, rough week. Sometimes life hits a sour stretch with happenings beyond our control. It’s easy enough to make excuses for ourselves, but are we willing to give others the benefit of the doubt?

Only occasionally is someone trying to make us miserable. Most everyone is focused on his or her own concerns. Often there's no time to concentrate on what's going on with everyone else. (Which is sad in itself.) Many are struggling just to get by, wrestling with issues of health or having trouble in relationships. But in spite of that, most everyone is also striving to do better, to be better. 

Maybe the question should be, “What is right with people?” There certainly is always good to be found. For everyone you meet who seems to be unpleasant, remember there is always something you don’t know about him or her. Maybe they’re carrying a heavy burden and their heart is weary. Pain often comes out in ways which seem as though someone is  merely trying to be disagreeable.

And for every truly unpleasant person out there, who really is just not very nice, there are many, many more who are kind, compassionate and helpful. There is a lot wrong with the world, but thankfully, there is an awfully lot which is right. Look for the good and find it.

Proof

I don't ordinarily offer book reviews/recommendations as a blog topic, but I've just finished reading "Proof of Heaven, A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife," by Eben Alexander, M.D. and I found it to be a fascinating read.

In it Alexander recounts his amazing experiences during a week-long coma brought on by a rare for adults (less than one in 10 million annually contract it) E.coli bacterial meningitis. The mortality rate is more than 90 percent and those who do survive are usually in a persistent vegetative state. Yet he not only miraculously survives, but regains all of his faculties.

He begins the prologue with an Albert Einstein quote, "A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be." It's an apt way for him to start to describe how, as a scientist and physician, he had his mind changed in a profound way about the possibility of an afterlife. Spoiler alert: he now strongly believes that physical death is not the end of our human consciousness. Well, given the title, that's probably not much of a surprise.

He also speaks of the existence of the connection of the two realms. From the book:

"To experience thinking outside the brain is to enter a world of instantaneous connections that make ordinary thinking (i.e., those aspects limited by the physical brain and the speed of light) seem like some hopelessly sleepy and plodding event. Our truest, deepest self is completely free. It is not crippled or compromised by past actions or concerned with identity or status. It comprehends that it has no need to fear the earthly world, and therefore, it has no need to build itself up through fame or wealth or conquest."

I believe in the heart, the soul, of every human is a desire to understand what lies beyond, to know bits and pieces about that which has been deemed unknowable. People of faith, men and women of science, believers, skeptics and those who are firmly undecided about the meaning of life or the existence of a realm which comes after, we all are curious about exactly what happens when we die.

I certainly have my own thoughts on the matter. Alexander does too. Like any other book on this topic, there are detractors. But I would suggest his "proof" is not as easily dismissed as some would claim. 

Coffee Mug Moratorium

I'm short on substance today. Long on platitudes: have a great day, pay it forward, smile, be the change you want to see, etc.

But I do have a random observation. Aren't there already enough coffee mugs in the world? I bet there are at least three in existence for every person in the United States. That would be around a billion, which seems about right. I think we should halt all manufacturing of coffee mugs and merely recycle the ones that are out there. Go to your local thrift store and pay a quarter each for mugs and give them as Christmas gifts to all of your friends and family. Include an assortment of teabags, homemade hot chocolate mix or favorite coffee.

That's it. No further observation or deep thought. Well, except that the billion coffee-mugs-out-there figure is totally made up, like probably half (also a figure I just made up) the stuff I've seen on Facebook this week. So, there is that.

 Please be honest. Make an effort to not spread lies and rumors. That's my other platitude for the day. (But I'm serious about recycling mugs.)

This is how it works

One of the things I love about living in the Ozarks is the sense of community and the abundance of generosity. There were so many festivals going on yesterday it was impossible to make the rounds of all of them. Citizens in places like Gainesville, Koshkonong and Goodhope did the hard work of organizing fun gatherings which brought people from miles around to visit with dear friends and make new acquaintances.

Also on Saturday were at least two fundraising events in West Plains. One was for Ozarks Medical Center and one was for Tanner Lager. Tanner is a 12-year-old West Plains boy who was has been battling Ewing's Sarcoma cancer for five years. You can visit the Facebook page set up for his event to find out more: Tanner's Fight Benefit. If you'd like to help, call the organizers or send a message. The money raised is to help with expenses for the family and for Tanner's wish/bucket list. It's difficult to think of a 12-year-old who has come up with a bucket list. It includes things like eating lobster, going to a Ram's game and seeing the Statue of Liberty. 

His mom told me he's a fighter and they're not giving up. They're always waiting for one more experimental study to come his way. The one he just finished failed to shrink his tumors which are now starting to invade his lungs, making it difficult for him to breathe. In the meantime he's undergoing yet another round of chemotherapy. Scores of people showed up to buy baked goods and t-shirts, bid on silent and live auction items and purchase raffle tickets.

I think of how we see the example being set by our leaders in Washington of division and strife, of accentuating our differences, which make us weak, rather than our common bonds which show our strength. I guarantee you that those gathered yesterday at the events I've mentioned and many others are of all different religious and political persuasions. And none of that mattered. We all come together to do what we can to make a difference.

The second chapter of the Book of Acts is one of my favorite sections of scripture for a variety of reasons. Verses 42-47 (with the sub-heading "The Ingathering" in my Bible) speak of the hope that comes when we live united, when we live with purpose, when we use our strengths to help make the miraculous happen.

I wish every member of Congress could have been at Tanner's benefit yesterday. I would have told them THIS is how it works. THIS is how we get things done. THIS is what makes a nation great. We work together and we don't care who gets the credit. I would have said to them as Peter preached in Acts 2, repent and ask for forgiveness.

Since the current Congress isn't interested in repenting (changing course), we have to rely on each other to do what we can, like we always have. Pray for the members of Congress. They have, almost without exception, lost their way. They are blind, they are poor in spirit and they don't know what they're missing by not working together. I hope they see the light soon.

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.