Patience!

Yours truly finds himself battling against an innate impatience.

It's an ongoing war, to be sure. But, it seems to have escalated a bit over the last 24 hours.

Started off yesterday when I felt like the waiter at one of my regular haunts was ignoring our table.

Then a water main burst on Orange Avenue (one of the primary arteries in this neck o' the woods) frustrating efforts to check-off all the items on ye olde to-do list.

Only now, as I've had a chance to cool-off a bit, do I have the hindsight to see that these events weren't part of some grand conspiracy.

Instead, perhaps these (petty!) annoyances were put in my path to teach me something.

At least, that's what I choose to believe . . .

Winds of change?

Given the windy weather in this little corner of heaven today, it is probably little wonder that yours truly finds his thoughts turning to the staked plains of his youth.

When we moved to the "llano estacado," we were warned that we would have to compensate for the high winds.

"Either lean into it, or back from it, but don't try to stand up straight in it or it'll knock you down!"

For the record, I chose the lean into it strategy. And, on only one occasion did that have negative results.

With all we've got swirling around us these days, I'm trying to figure out what kind of wisdom might be drawn from that old lesson . . .

To be truthful or helpful, that is the question . . .

Are the two things mutually exclusive?

They can be.

Or, so I've discovered.

I guess it's just a matter of tailoring your message to your audience.

Call it self-censorship, if you will.

Besides, you can still say an awful lot using nonverbal communication!

Dreams of trees

Heard an interesting homily this morning, thought I'd share it with ye socks.

Three trees were standing around, as they typically do, talking about their dreams: an olive tree, an oak tree, and a pine tree.

The olive tree said its dream was to have its wood used to build a treasure chest. The oak tree said its dream was to have its wood used to build a ship that would carry noble men beyond the seas. And, the pine tree said its dream was to have its wood used to make signs to point the way for travelers.

Well, as dreams so often go, the dreamers were (at least initially) disappointed.

The olive tree was used to make a trough at a humble barn. The oak tree was used to make a simple rowboat. And, the pine tree was cut up into timber and piled-up in an army camp.

But, their dreams were not dashed.

The trough (sometimes called a "manger") was eventually used as a cradle that did in fact hold the greatest of treasures.

The rowboat eventually carried the king of kings over the Sea of Galilee.

And, the timber was used to fashion a cross that was set up as a sign that continues to guide wayward folks to this day.

So, I guess the message ye socks may take from all this is that, even when your dreams don't come true exactly as you envisioned them, they may yet come to fruition according to a bigger plan . . .

Chew on that the rest of this fine Sunday!

Just breathe!

Wow! I don't know if it's just the holidays, or what.

But the madness that almost always accompanies the season seems to have kicked into particularly high gear this year.

Maybe, it's the economy?

I don't know.

Anyway, after my own online rant yesterday, and in light of all the meltdowns I encountered in the real world today, I'm encouraging all ye socks to just take a step back and BREATHE!

Who's in charge here?!

So, I arrived at my regular Thursday morning meeting to discover our discussion leader/host was missing in action.

Threw us for a bit of a loop.

Not that we weren't prepared to discuss. We're a pretty talkative bunch by nature. But, no one was prepared to actually lead the discussion.

Kinda plays in to what we've been reading, though. (Acts of the Apostles.)

You never know when you're gonna have to pick up the reins. So, be prepared, ye socks!

Contemplating St. Paul

My regular Thursday morning group discussion has me contemplating the work of St. Paul.

No, I'm not referring to his missionary work, though that is understandably why he is best remembered by most folks.

Instead, today I keyed-in to the fact that he continued to ply his trade as a tentmaker even as he took up that missionary work.

No, I'm not just speaking in the allegorical sense. He literally kept on making tents.

Anyway, that's reminded me it's not necessary to drop everything when you pursue a new path.

Something to contemplate, anyway . . .

We may not be speaking the same language, but . . .

I always enjoy my Thursday morning discussions with my Protestant brothers, because their brand of evangelism is really inspiring. Often eye-opening. This morning was no different, as we were talking about Acts 19.

They were particularly excited about verse 6, the one that mentions how 12 men baptized by St. Paul began speaking in tongues.

I had always interpreted this to mean that they went forth to relay the Good News in various languages (Hebrew, Latin, Greek, etc.) to the ethnically diverse crowd there in Corinth.

But, that's not the way these guys saw it. It was interesting to see the directions they took.

In fact, they spoke so much about it that they didn't make it down to verse 12, just a few lines down. You know, where the people took some of St. Paul's relics to heal the sick.

But, this is one of the manifestations of the Catholic faith that they probably "get" about as much as I "get" the whole speaking in tongues thing.

Both are drawn from the same Book . . . in fact, the same chapter, and only separated by a couple of lines.

I guess that's the over riding message. Different folks can get different messages from the same source.

Maybe, that's part of a bigger message?!

4 Levels of Wisdom

Not saying I subscribe to this construct, just that I heard it today and thought it worth pondering. Supposedly, each level is a building block to the next. In other words, one cannot completely achieve the next level without mastering the preceding level. (Wondering how many folks actually go beyond the lowest level (4) . . . )

4. Surrender nothing. Approach life's problems from a natural, humanistic perspective. Try to rationalize/compartmentalize everything. (Average adult.)

3. Surrender the past. Realize there is no changing what happened before today. Focus on the here and now. Begin each day anew without being anchored to your history. (Someone who's been around the block a few times.)

2. Surrender the present. This doesn't mean live with complete abandon and reckless disregard, but rather acknowledge that no individual human being could possibly control every aspect of every moment. (A wise person.)

1. Surrender the future. Exercise prudence, justice, strength, and temperance; but, otherwise allow what will be to unfold with grace. (A sage.)

The key to perseverance?

Over the years, a lot of folks have told me that perseverance is the key to success.

But, what's the key to perseverance?

I've been contemplating that this morning, and the best answer I've come up with is "vision."

When called upon to persevere thru a difficult situation . . . family, work, money, whatever . . . it is WAY too easy to get bogged down if you focus on the immediacy of what you're going thru.

To persevere, you have to take a broader view, keep your eye on the prize rather than the momentary details that so easily distract.

Gonna try to do a little of that . . . now that I'm done contemplating . . .

Contemplating walls

A buddy was telling me this morning about a book called "Spirit of the Rainforest," by Mark Andrew Ritchie. It's an account of a chief of the Yanomamo tribe of Amazonia who was converted to Christianity. In it, he recounts his people's never-ending cycle of war and revenge.

In one instance, he describes a clan who fortified their village with two concentric walls and other elaborate defenses designed to stave off a counterattack, only to be massacred in their sleep by one of their own with kinship ties to their enemy.

This called to mind other incidents I've read of medieval castles in Europe, where the walls built to defend people actually proved their undoing.

Sometimes, it was--as in the case of the Yanomamo--a traitor within the walls.

Sometimes, the walls themselves were the enemy, because they prevented the defenders from foraging for food and other supplies.

Sometimes, sadly, would-be reinforcements were also kept from coming to the aid of those within the walls.

Perhaps, it's not an altogether bad thing when walls come tumbling down . . .

Side note: if you want to see some REAL walls come tumbling down, check out the implosion scheduled in Ocoee this Saturday at 6:45am. Supposed to be the biggest such event since the demolition of the old Orange County courthouse in downtown Orlando, forever immortalized in film by the Lethal Weapon franchise.

Who will YOU meet in heaven?

Most folks would probably answer that question with the name of a parent or grandparent, perhaps a deceased friend or teacher.

Until today, I probably would have, too.

But, a sermon I heard this morning has made me re-evaluate my list more than Mitch Albom's book The Five People You Meet in Heaven.

That's because the question is even more profound when you turn it around. Instead of making up your list based on who you expected to be waiting on you, try to answer who you might eventually be waiting to greet.

I'll bet you not only come up with a different list, but a bigger perspective on why we're all here in this little corner of heaven . . .

It's the journey

How many times have you heard the people in your life declare, "I'll be happy as soon as -----(fill in the blank)----."?!

Like, "I'll be happy when I get my driver's license."

Or, "I can't wait til I graduate from school."

Or, "I'll be glad when I get that promotion at work."

Etc., etc., etc.

Just a gentle reminder, folks: Sometimes the journey is as important as the destination.

Go ahead and set admirable goals, and work to achieve them.

But, that doesn't mean you have to forego happiness in the mean time.

I guess that's just my overly verbose way of saying, "Remember to stop and smell the roses."

Nuff preachin.

Perspective adjustment

Wow, I can't believe how stressed-out I got about the whole move to temporary quarters.

I mean, in the grand scheme of things, how big a deal is it REALLY?

Especially, when we got the bad news this morning that George Murphy died early this morning . . . just one day after the family buried his wife of 60+ years.

I guess I don't have things so bad after all.

Just needed to get some perspective, I guess.

Still, moving ain't a cake walk . . .