CREATING COMMUNITY

 

IMMANUEL

CHRISTMAS 2022

Christmas is a celebration of the arrival of one of the three triune beings, the Son of God, and hence the prophet Isaiah (7:14) foretells this child will be called Immanuel, God with us.  

 

Whenever I have a concern with scripture, I seek out what Immanuel told us during the three years he walked among mankind while wrapped in human flesh.  When challenged by the religious leaders about the greatest commandments, he simply replied that if we love God and our neighbors as ourselves, we will be just fine.

“The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.”

 "The church is not a religious community of worshippers of Christ but is Christ himself who has taken form among people."

--- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

“It is said that before entering the sea

a river trembles with fear.

The river needs to take the risk

of entering the ocean

because only then will fear disappear,

because that’s where the river will know

it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,

but of becoming the ocean.”

---Khalil Gibran

MINDFULNESS HAIKU

First Light, Jamestown, NC

 MINDFULNESS HAIKU

Awake at first light.

Can I keep this calm moment?

That will be my choice.

BODY AND SOUL

We are not a body that has a soul.  

Rather, we are a soul with a body—

a mortal body that carries us through life 

to enable the development of our character 

which shapes the timeless soul.  

CHRISTMAS HAIKU

Moonlight over Jamestown. NC

CHRISTMAS HAIKU 🌟

When will love arrive?

The Bethlehem Inn is full.

But love enters in.

IN THE RED ZONE

Red Sky in the Morning, Jamestown, NC

Red Zone

The red zone in American football fields is considered to be 20 yards before the opponent’s end zone and the goal of a winning drive.  As a lifelong football fan with the KC Chiefs, an easy analogy for me is to see life as a 100-yard field and the red zone as the culmination of life’s long journey before entering the promised end zone.  

I was introduced to the author Jack London many years ago via his novel, The Call of the Wild.  I’ve aways spent a lot of time out in the wild areas of nature hunting, fishing and hiking.  I even wander there searching for errant golf balls.  That book was his all-time best seller, but one of his more famous quotes comes from a lesser-known book, Burning Daylight.  And London’s literary executor, Irving Shepherd, quoted a Jack London Credo in an introduction to a 1956 collection of London stories:

“I would rather be ashes than dust!

I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

The function of man is to live, not to exist.

I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.

I shall use my time.”

Joseph Campbell in his seminal book The Hero with a Thousand Faces encourages us to follow our bliss in a “call to adventure”.  London also instructs us to follow the call of the wild and writes “Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and as often as he heard this call, mysteriously thrilling and luring, he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire and the beaten earth around it, and to plunge into the forest.”

I’ve traversed over those 80 yards pursuing the adventurous call to experience mortal life to the fullest on this planet.  And now I’m living in the red zone, having achieved the goal of transitioning from success to significance.  I’ve exchanged untold life hours for the monies needed to survive and grow in both mind and spirit.  Now I shall expend my life hours in pursuit of positive outcomes and the reasoned avoidance of those experiences now known to be unproductive and distasteful.  

I will no longer be governed by human created constraints such as routines, time and clocks whenever possible.  My days no longer have a price.  I shall use my time.       

 

TOGETHER APART, Under the Lover’s Moon

MOON RISE, MONT SAINT-MICHEL

BLOOD MOON 2022

The satellite presence of a full harvest moon overhead will at times catch our attention when we least expect it.  Other phases of the moon are seemingly less impressive, but that reflective orb is always with us, even though we urban dwellers most often go about our lives without notice.  And the artificial light pollution within our cities terribly reduces the full splendor of every night sky on the planet.

At any point in time, half of the world can view the moon and the other half can see the sun.  That generally implies that most everyone within our circle of influence will be sharing our experience with the constellations at the same time.  The recent celestial event of a full blood moon was viewed by many of us and it occurs when the moon’s orbit places it fully in the earth’s shadow, allowing mostly longer wavelengths of red and orange to reflect back to the optics available to us earth-bound human beings.

Whenever I’m in a position to view a full moon, especially in the fall, my memory instantly returns to a long-ago time in the Georgia mountains north of Atlanta.  My young wife Karen and I hadn’t been separated since our wedding, but my new career involved traveling out to production plants for various projects.  I’m told the area is now a sophisticated location of beautiful retirement and second homes, but not back then.  We visitors stayed in the only motel in the area which was affectionately called “The Hilton”.  When I checked in late one afternoon, I asked for a “wake up call”.  The clerk smiled, reached under the counter for an alarm clock and noted that he closed up at dinner time and besides, there were no phones in the rooms anyway!  However, he did point to a lone weathered phone booth out front in the gravel drive next to the two-lane highway. 

The sun had receded over the mountains by the time I returned from a short dinner, but there was a beautiful full moon illuminating the landscape outside.  Needless to say, there was no problem here with artificial light pollution.   I wandered over to the darkened phone booth out in the cool mountain air and was able to reach my young bride.  We briefly talked awhile under the lover’s moon and I asked her if she could also see its beauty that night.  She replied that she had indeed noticed it and could still view it outside our apartment window in the Kansas City suburbs.

That was the tender moment when we both realized that although we were apart, we could both be together in the same place for a little while.  And although we were separated at the time, we had the expectation of being together again later.  I still believe that our spirits can share that moment every time I pause to reflect on the light of a full moon.

P.S.

The Eagles lead singer Glenn Frey cowrote a song with Jack Tempchin titled Lover’s Moon that ends with these two stanzas:

There's a lover's moon tonight
Shining down on half of this world
So many souls are in its light
But for me there is just one girl

And she's waiting, I know she's waiting
I know she waits for me
Under the lover's moon

 

ACQUIESCING SEASON

 

INVADING ARMY, JAMESTOWN, NC

I was out for a late afternoon "Take Five" drive to nowhere in particular when I crested a hill with a relatively unobstructed view of the sky. An interesting wall cloud of billowing radiant white marshmallows appeared on the immediate horizon and blitzed toward me like an invading army. Within minutes it began to overtake the lowering sun and obscure its extended rays. 

Although it wasn’t as animated, the temperature simultaneously began to drop in lock step with the assaulting columns of vaporous invaders. And within the hour, the sunset revealed a clear, cold blue sky that had acquiesced to the changing season. 

THE GREAT REVEAL AND LIBERATION

 

LEAF REVEAL, JAMESTOWN, NC

We initially talk about cool nights and the beautiful turning of the leaves in October as they anxiously flutter on steadfast branches in southerly breezes.  

But we know that the surrounding leaves are actually revealing their true colors in anticipation of the final liberation that occurs as they break free and fly away on gusting northwest winds!

FIRST FREEZE

 

DRIVING HOME IN THE COLD RAIN

OVERNIGHT AUTUMN RAIN, JAMESTOWN, NC

Columnar rays of the setting sun reflect ice crystals in thin wispy cirrus clouds, giving way to early darkness that now follows us home in the shadows.  A cold October rain and bitter wind brings down spiraling autumn leaves overnight.  The harsh sound of intermittent tapping on a window pane disturbs the subconscious to restless sleep.  

And the chilly anticipation of that first freeze as we awaken in the faint light of a frosty morning evokes a slow shudder throughout the body. 

P.S.

Dedicated to the event of my 80th trip around the sun.
 

AUTUMN’S INNER BEAUTY

Autumn Window, Jamestown, NC

Autumn Spirit

As I glance out of my upstairs office window this morning, my eye catches red splashes of color on the outer fringes of the maple tree that I planted twenty-five years ago, envisioning such a sight for this year.  The annual season of letting go is once again upon us.  If we’re paying attention, nature has much to teach us about life.  There’s a lot of reasons we hold onto things, primarily procrastination.  But mother earth and the maple tree wait on no man and are preparing to cycle through another circle of life.  Man gathers in the fall, but nature scatters wild things such as seeds and colorful autumn leaves.

I’ve always liked the analogy of a legacy which compares planting a tree under which you may never receive comfort from its shade on a hot summer’s day.  But today, I’ve received the blessing of the tree I planted and nursed all these years extending its outer branches to me clothed in a rich autumn burgundy.  A southerly breeze rustles the tree branches and sets the leaves into a gentle shimmering motion.

Overnight temperatures have now started to lower along with less daylight which triggers the tree to slowly begin the process of leaf abscission in anticipation of colder weather to follow.  This time is literally the fourth quarter in the life of a solitary leaf and its also the best time of its life when it shows its true colors.  As the green chlorophyll withdraws, the aging leaves display their maturity and true inner beauty.  The leaves have been anchored to the symbiotic tree and have survived the complete cycle of life while enduring extremes of temperature, high winds, violent storms, and endless days of processing sunlight, water and carbon dioxide for the common good.

The time soon arrives when the autumn leaves are finally released from the bondage of mother earth.  The free-falling autumn spirits joyfully soar in spiraling wind gusts and run with the cars along banked streets.  They’re gathered in piles along urban lawns while laughing children and their four-legged companions excitedly jump into them.  The spirits of autumn enjoy their celebration of life.  

We human souls are inextricably connected to our bodies and are spiritually informed as long as the body actively thrives on this planet. And as with the autumn spirits, we must die to this life so that the beauty of our inner soul may be set free to soar into the next, while our natural bodies return to stardust.

BE CIVILIZED

 

Hurricane Hope

A student once asked anthropologist Margaret Mead what she thought was the first sign of civilization, expecting the emergence of clay pots or grinding stones.  Mead didn’t mention these basic creations but the discovery of a healed thigh bone.  It was evident that this long-deceased person had experienced a deadly injury that would have most certainly ended their life.  But someone carried them to safety and nursed the individual back to health to thrive again. 

Mead said that “helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts.”  When Jesus was challenged about which was the most important commandment of the over 600 Jewish commandments at the time, he simply asked us to “love God and love others”. 

The prophet Micah wrote in 700 B.C. that God has shown us what is good.  And his expectation for us is to be just, kind and humble.  We human beings are at our best when we help one another.  Especially those who are marginalized and those who are the victims of tragedies that are beyond comprehension such as war, inhumane acts of violent people and extreme episodes of nature like devastating hurricanes, tornados, wild fires, etc.  Those challenging times provide the arena for demonstrating that we still have the capacity for being civilized. 

A DAMP AUTUMN DAY

 

Rainy Autumn Road

The beauty of the dying world around us imparts a poignancy to the scene.  Departing evening shadows grow longer and darker as the nights grow colder.  A full harvest moon shines brightly among overcast skies.  The low valleys are enchanted by the cover of white-frosted morning dew.  The rains fall much lighter and slower as all nature weeps for the impending fallow season to come.  The life-giving flow within all growing plants and trees begins to withdraw to their core as the sunlight also withholds its magic.  “Be at peace” is whispered in the gentle breezes that carry emancipated, colorful leaf spirits in circular dances to rest upon the moist forest floor.  And so begins the slow recycling process of eternal stardust. 

The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer have acquiesced to the overcast, downcast, outcast days of autumn. Autumn is the season of the soul.  The time has come once again to pause, reflect and renew.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Free Golf Cart

Time to get excited!  I’ve recently received a barrage of announcements on digital media about my amazing good luck for a chance to win a variety of consumer goods!  For instance, a golf cart, the latest iPhone and Apple Watch, the newest model tent and Yeti Cooler from Dick’s Sporting Goods, a Craftsman Generator from Ace Hardware, a $90 Reward from American Airlines, a Vitamix Pro Blender from Walmart, A Tumi Leather backpack from the Tumi Loyalty Program, etc. and I just need to click on “CONFIRM NOW!”.  And I have packages waiting for a response to “DID YOU RECEIVE YOUR PACKAGE?” from various shipping companies by simply clicking on various links.  Even the USPS that has been bleeding money for all of my life just now sent me a notification for an unclaimed $90 reward for being a great customer!  That must be a thank you for buying a booklet of Christmas stamps for all these years!

I’m getting free offers from companies that I don’t even do business with from their Loyalty Rewards Programs or invitations for free cash if I complete their Opinion Survey!  And second notices from the shipping companies that I still haven’t responded to their pleas for an acknowledgement.  Click “CONTINUE FOR FREE”.   What a windfall! 

But I’m beginning to smell a rat.  Ya think?  I suspect that if it’s free, I’m the product!  The product that returns a profit.  Fortunately, my cable phone service also now displays “SPAM RISK” on suspect calls which I never answer.  I really became suspicious today when I was notified that I’ve been selected as the “Spam Recipient of the Year”!  All I need to do is “CLICK HERE” to receive my free grand prize.  I just need to purchase some untraceable gift cards, call back their numbers to cover shipping and handling and wait patiently for my surprise!

EXISTENTIAL EXIT STREET ART

JACKSON POLLOCK

STREET ART

I set my Garmin on a course for Starbucks as the gym faded in my rearview mirror today.  I ordered a Grande cold brew (now that I have been gently reminded of the SB nomenclature) and decided on another trip to nowhere to consume it.  We retirees have that option on a Monday these days after rush hour clears. 

I noticed landscapers hurrying to finish their assigned tasks and all sorts of service vans on the road beginning another hurried work week to make ends meet at home.  Some house painters were busy at work putting the finishing touches on a home just before I turned off the interstate and set a course for home.

As I signaled my intention to make a sharp right exit onto one more artery street, my eye caught the quick sight of a spilled can of white paint.  The partially used can had obviously had the lid pried off earlier as it was placed in the back of either an open bed truck or trailer.  The driver must have been late for a job and turned onto the exit with enough force to throw the can onto the pavement, knocking off the lid and rapidly forcing the contents out before its path!

My mind immediately connected with the paintings of Jackson Pollock whose most famous paintings were created around 1950.  He poured household paint onto horizontal surfaces which enabled him to view and paint his canvases from all angles.  His work titled Number 17A sold for $200 million in 2016.

And now we have an impressive street art piece close to my own home which I can view at my leisure at no cost for at least the next few months until winter snow and frozen rains force snow plows and traffic to obliterate it.  Ironically, Pollock lost his life on the street at the age of 44 in a single-car accident in December 1956, but his influence still resides in my memory on the streets of Jamestown, North Carolina in 2022.

ABANDONED HAIKU

ABANDONED,  NC

The old dairy barn,

Once sheltered men and cattle,

And fed multitudes.

She stands resolute,

Her weathered wooden siding,

Bears character lines.

The twin grain silos,

Solemnly still stand ready,

To protect and serve.

Choking vines entwine,

A hawk circles overhead,

Clouds gather in praise.

 

LONELINESS AND ALONENESS

ALONENESS

 About one fourth of the nation’s people live alone.  Even those who live with a partner experience time alone together.  I’ve observed couples dining out that make it through an entire meal without being in conversation.  People can be alone in a crowd.  Families gathering around the television at night can experience the concept of “getting together alone”.  They are in the presence of others, but hardly any communication is exchanged, with the possible exception of debating changing channels.  People attending events such as a church service who arrive, go directly to their chosen pew, and then exit to the parking lot practice “getting together alone”.  And how often do we see images of teenagers and older folks out in public and alone together staring at their digital devices?  The entire world has gone through the collective negative trauma for over two years of isolation and aloneness during the Covid pandemic.

Loneliness can be an omnipotent and painful emotion for those who focus on being alone.  But there are many positive values to the concept of aloneness or solitude.  Paul Tillich writes that “Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone”.  The frenzied mother of four small children certainly understands the glory of some alone time.  Solitude is pleasant; loneliness not so much.  May Sarton notes that “loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.  Neither should be a lifestyle, but solitude is the better choice when being alone.  Solitude is good medicine for recharging and reflection! 

Loneliness is the inevitable experience of everyone, but it can be offset by learning our way around it and focusing on liking the person you have spent your entire life with in both good times and bad.  Instead of searching for people that will understand you, strive to understand yourself.  Introverts likely do have an advantage adjusting to aloneness, but all people need a support network and social connections.  We were created in God’s image as relational beings after all!  And our creator has gone on record as committing to be with us always. But of course, relationship is a two-way street.  He won’t necessarily come uninvited. We have to take time out to nurture that relationship and open up to the joys and concerns of our life.  We have to make a habit of talking and listening or we’ll simply coexist alone together.

Taking the time to refocus on others and not oneself through volunteer activities and activities that can still be enjoyed both inside and outside the home is mana for the soul and psyche.  It’s being deliberate in scheduling time exercising and exploring the world.  No troubling emotion can resist grace forever.      

SUFFERING

CASTAWAY

In the opening trailer to the Tom Hanks movie, Castaway, he is training a crew of FedEx employees in Russia on the critical importance of “We live or die by the clock!”  Time is the critical, common enemy at FedEx, but this human construct drives most industrial nations as well, no matter what your occupation.

After his FedEx plane crashed in the ocean during a tropical storm, the castaway endured countless days of using his wits to survive on a deserted island.  There are no clocks or calendars to mark the time when someone is suffering many hardships and fighting for their life. 

Pastor Ray Firestone was the minister in Kansas that married Karen and I in 1968.  His wife was killed at a railroad crossing and he came out of retirement to assist Adam Hamilton as Church of the Resurrection grew to today’s 20,000 membership with five satellite locations.  It’s not only important to embrace a spiritual faith in this life, but to also question it.  One of the most asked is “How can a loving God allow all the suffering in the world and what is he doing about it?”  One answer is that he created you and me.  Adam recently shared sage thoughts that Pastor Firestone passed along regarding suffering in this life:

“Suffering is not God’s desire for us, but it occurs in the process of life. Suffering is not given to teach us something, but through it we may learn. Suffering is not given to teach others something, but through it they may learn. Suffering is not given to punish us, but sometimes it is the consequence of our sin or poor judgment. Suffering does not occur because our faith is weak, but through it our faith may be strengthened. God does not depend on human suffering to achieve his purposes, but sometimes through suffering his purposes are achieved. Suffering can either destroy us, or it can add meaning to our life.”

Adam was reminded of Jesus’ words, “’In this world you will have trouble…but take heart! I have overcome the world’.  Our faith compels us not to throw up our hands and give up, but to roll up our sleeves and get to work embodying love and acting as instruments of healing and hope.” 

LEAVING

Leaving

Some folks light up a room by entering, some by leaving.  We exit this world by dying, but we have the promise of entering a better existence.  And even whole galaxies eventually exit the universe as their stardust enters a new heavenly realm.  We buy life insurance by betting we’ll leave early, while the insurance companies gamble that we’ll pay premiums for many, many moons.  We ultimately leave most all of the places we enter as we meander through life, some forever and some we return to frequently. 

We leave childhood and enter the teenage years.  Then we leave our parents and enter young adulthood.  Many leave the single life, enter lifetime partnerships and then return again.  Some phases of life are strictly one-way paths, however.  And that’s OK, for once traveled, most of those paths are best left behind.  Joseph Campbell implores us to “follow your bliss and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be and wouldn’t have opened for anyone else.”

Bob Buford’s book Halftime is essentially about transitioning the second period of life from one of success to one of significance. Success is good in our first period of life as it lays the groundwork to freely achieve goals of significance. Life at this stage is no longer about money or the approval of others—it’s about finding your sacred dance as your character has matured and grown.

George Bernard Shaw famously noted, “There are two sources of unhappiness in life; one is not getting what you want; the other is getting it.” Entering the second period is about leaving your homey comfort zone and setting out once again to fulfill your ultimate destiny. It’s about leaving the pursuit of external happiness in favor of achieving internal joy in your life. 

LOOKING BACK IN A MIRROR DARKLY

LOOKING DARKLY, LOOKING BACK

Early attempts at creating a mirrored surface to view ourselves were dim reflections at best from surfaces such as polished metals.  Reflections of our lives can present such images as time has begun to erode the bright reflections of those memorable moments.  We can no longer touch or hold these precious events and it becomes as though we are viewing them through a glass darkly. 

As I approach another milestone in life, one that as a young man I never expected to attain, the voice inside my head has never aged.  My body has endured the trials and punishment of many years, but my spirit and soul have never tired or aged.  They are forever.  I no longer acknowledge such meaningless concepts as how many times I have circled the sun.  Only government entities like schools, the military, the DOT, Social Security and the IRS keep track of such things so they can regulate our lives.  Ask yourself, “How old would I be if I didn’t know how old the government records show that I am?”

 Kahlil Gibran observes that a river trembles with fear before entering the sea.  She looks back at the remembered path she has traveled from the mountains through the villages and forests.  And you can never cross the same river twice, for by then both the river and you have changed.  Neither she nor we can go back except in reflections.  But coming to the end of the journey is not about disappearing into the vastness of an ocean, but of becoming one with the vast expanse of the universe.  And only then will we know fully the mystery of our existence and see clearly the reflection of our lives.

When people say that I look good--for my age, I respond that “You should see how ageless my soul is today!”

 

SUNDAY GOLF HAIKU

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

Open yesterday,

When Saturday times were booked,

So, no Sunday church,

And the Devil won again,

 

THE RACE COURSE PARADOX

Greek Philosopher Zeno

The ancient Greek philosopher Zeno proposed a set of philosophical problems he called paradoxes. One of the most famous is the Race Course Paradox.  It was posited as follows:

“Suppose Atalanta wants to walk to the end of a path. Before she can get to the end, she must get half-way to the end. And before she can get to the end from the half-way point, she must first get half-way to the end from there. And so on, infinitely. According to this reasoning, Zeno said, it would be impossible for Atalanta to ever get to the end of the path. No matter how close she got to the end, she would still have to first go half-way.”

Democritus proposed that the universe was composed of tiny indivisible particles called atoms and reasoned that when Atalanta reached only one atom from the end of the path, the distance could no longer be divided in half so, the paradox was solved!  Although this solution was challenged, it remains relevant because it corresponds more to modern science than any such theory of the ancient world.

Since I’ve earned degrees in both mathematics and Industrial Engineering, I recognized the paradox from a different perspective.  It seems there was a young mathematician and a young engineer who were both vying for the hand of a beautiful maiden that couldn’t chose between them.  After much bickering, they solicited her father to settle the issue.  The father liked both of the suitors so, he proposed drawing a line in front of his young daughter and challenged the two of them with the Race Course Paradox. 

The mathematician immediately threw up his hands and announced that “I know of this paradox and I give up as it cannot be resolved!”  The engineer thought about it for a few minutes and began walking towards his future wife.  When the other young man questioned his strategy, the engineer announced that “I may not get to the very end, but I’ll get close enough for all practical purposes.”

The young woman’s father welcomed him into the family!

P.S.

I’ve learned over the years that it takes significantly more energy, cost and effort to attempt perfection when good enough will do quite nicely, thank you.

 

THE BOILING FROG METAPHOR

Frog Contemplating Boiling Water

The story of the boiling frog is often used as a metaphor to illustrate human beings’ inability to gradually be aware of threats or changes around them until it is too late to do anything about it.  A metaphor is a figure of speech that describes an action that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison.

Daniel Quinn, writing in The Story of B, describes the boiling frog metaphor:

“If you drop a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will of course frantically try to clamber out. But if you place it gently in a pot of tepid water and turn the heat on low, it will float there quite placidly. As the water gradually heats up, the frog will sink into a tranquil stupor, exactly like one of us in a hot bath, and before long, with a smile on its face, it will unresistingly allow itself to be boiled to death.”

This metaphor nicely illustrates many actual examples that we should be paying more attention to before it’s too late, even though scientific studies debunk this actually happens to a frog.  A frog dumped into boiling water will immediately die, while one introduced to increasing heat will bail out once it gets uncomfortable.  But properly introduced, it can be used like the metaphor of the ostrich sticking its head in the sand to illustrate how some folks simply don’t want to know about impending doom.

 Many political speeches use the metaphor to arouse fear in the populace to get their attention to a real or bogus threat for political gain.  One real example I read about is the gradual increase in prosperity and excess for a culture that can ultimately destroy itself from within if not acknowledged and acted upon.  This can happen in any organization that placidly accepts a gradual change that could ultimately destroy their very existence unless they identify and act to counter the threat.  The last remaining Blockbuster store has now closed while Amazon has shifted consumer sales from brick-and-morter stores to on-line shopping.  There are myriad examples of how technological advances and cultural shifts eliminated once thriving enterprises almost overnight.  Resistance to change and/or the naïve failure to acknowledge the threat was their undoing.

And finally, we need to possess the common sense to distinguish which of the changes creeping into our lives need to be identified and either challenged or embraced!  Learning from the metaphors of frogs and ostriches can enlighten us.

MILESTONE CHOICES

Introspection 

Two Roads Diverging

 The Road Not Taken,   By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

I think the reason this famous poem resonates with millions of people is because every choice we make in life shapes the path we walk and eventually where we finally end up.  Cornell University researchers have estimated (It’s beyond me how they did this or who can dispute it) that the average adult makes about 35,000 conscious decisions every waking day!  And decisions have consequences.  It’s been noted that if an executive makes optimum decisions at least 50% of the time, he’s doing a commendable job.

 It would be futile to even attempt to document all of these choices, but I believe it would be interesting to recall those milestone choices through some introspection such as:

·        Choosing the activities and the children you played with for hours on end.

·         Choosing the profession or college major you found interesting.

·         Choosing your major employers and all the work friends you met.

·         Choosing the adult activities you like to enjoy participating in and watching.

·         Choosing a life partner as a soulmate.

·         Choosing to raise a child.

·         Choosing to commit to an extended mortgage and buy a home together.

·         Choosing church families, organizations and lifelong friends along the way.

·         Choosing books to read, television to watch, politics to support, etc.

·         Choosing ideals to support and make the world a better place.

How we remember our choices shapes us today.  Frost remembers taking the road less traveled with a sigh.  When we chose a particular path, we don’t have any certainty that taking the alternative may have been the better choice.  Ultimately, all of the 35,000 choices we make daily, both mundane and monumental, shape our character based on how we respond.  The end game is to live life so that we can simply look back and smile.  

And that will make all the difference!