Ignorance

Watched "A Christmas Carol" with the kids tonight and the movie left out one of my favorite lines from the book.

Scrooge's time with the Ghost of Christmas Present is coming to an end and he notices a foot barely visible under the fringe of the ghost's robe. He asks what it is and two horrid looking children are revealed. He asks whose children these are. Dickens takes it from here.

"They are Man's", said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware of them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."

Ignorance, and the willingness to remain firmly entrenched in it, has a way of destroying life, rupturing relationships and continuing Want. Sometimes the best thing to do is to be quiet and listen. Learn. Open your heart. Put yourself in the other's shoes.

The grace of God, freely given to us, puts us in a position of knowing that nothing has been achieved on our own accord. There is humility that comes with that knowledge. Ignorance cannot survive in the presence of such humility.

Love your neighbor.

Peace.

Distraction

There is no greater distraction in the world than whatever keeps you from doing what you need to do in any particular moment.

I'm not sure that sentence makes sense but I will try to clarify.

You have started a project and this is not just any project...this is THE project, the one that will crush all previous and trailing projects. After much hunting and gathering, you have all your materials, you are fully fed and hydrated, everything is set to begin when, suddenly...

It doesn't really matter what it is that "suddenly" appears on your radar; it has served its purpose to pull your mind away from the task at hand and your body will soon follow. If someone had "suddenly" entered the room and unloaded a suitcase filled with $100 dollar bills, that would be an understandable distraction. It would be reasonable to get up and go investigate.

The unreasonable, but still very powerful, distraction would be noticing that you have a hole in the sock on your right foot. It isn't even an annoying toe hole, it is a harmless ball-of-the-foot hole and yet you (ok I) could turn it into a thirty minute ordeal trying to figure out how it got there, checking to see if you have any clean, unholey socks and finally having a few (eight) Chips Ahoy cookies to refocus your mind on what needs to be done on your project.

The point is that the distraction doesn't have to be huge and it doesn't even have to make sense for it to be a distraction. Sometimes the slightest thought or sound in the room or even a different project can serve to pull you away from what you know needs to be done.

This short little post took me several hours because I needed a shave and a haircut, a bowl of Rice Krispies and one episode of "The Office" to get me primed to write. See what I mean?

What's your distraction of choice?

Peace.

Doing

The real money is in the doing. Not in terms of actual cash, though that can be true, but the action of life is where things get done.

I have great ideas. They aren't all great, mind you, some are only average and many others should never be spoken aloud. But some of them are great. The catch for me comes in putting them into action. I am too...busy, distracted, disorganized, afraid, worried, lazy and any number of other negative sounding adjectives to actually make progress on an idea. I will think and talk and wonder and dissect and ponder a thought to the point that the idea, which was great to begin with, now becomes a useless lump taking up space in my brain.

I came across a book the other day and I would like to read it, if only because I like the title. The book is called "Passion is Not Enough" by Greg Darley. I believe the author is referring to ideas that people have but they don't know how to put those ideas into practice. I think that "passion is not enough" can apply to all of life.

I hear people say all the time that "This is my passion". It is usually in reference to a job or to sports or to their family. Sometimes it is regarding changing the world one way or another. That is all well and good, but it takes work to do something with your passion. Things don't just happen because you are passionate about them. Professional athletes may have a passion for the game but if they aren't practicing, working out, eating right, etc., that passion is worthless. They quickly become a spectator who is passionate about the game. Same is true in marriage. You may be madly in love with your spouse, but if you never take action to give yourself fully for their benefit, you could find yourself on the outside of what used to be your life.

It is easy to be passionate about an idea or a concept. It doesn't cost anything. Talk is cheap. The real money is in the doing.

Peace.

Last Minute

Just realized I hadn't posted for today. It will be short and sweet.

"Talents are best nurtured in solitude: character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world."
--Goethe

Peace.

Junk

The human condition is a marvel to me.

I was thinking today about how, day to day, things can be very routine, but in that routine, we can experience an infinite number of thoughts and emotions.

Take my day today, for instance. I got out of bed at roughly the same time I usually do on a weekday. I slept fine, as far as I know. I hadn't gone to bed angry with anyone. I didn't doze off thinking that life was particularly difficult. But when I woke up this morning...

I wasn't angry with my wife, just to clear that thought from your head, nor was she angry with me. I just wasn't "feeling it" today. My motivation to do anything productive was hovering around zero, my confidence that I was capable of doing anything productive was at approximately the same level. I had a bazillion things to get done today but I was having a hard time convincing myself that I would do a passable job on any given task.

The amazing part of all of this is that there is the potential that tomorrow, I will be ready to charge the gates of Hell with a water pistol. And nothing significant will change from today to tomorrow.

We (at least I) am so prone to listen to the crazy thoughts and insecurities that dart through our head. Sometimes they tell us that we are wonderful; other times...not so wonderful. If we let them, the voices can dictate how we live our life and what we give our self to. We can ride the roller coaster of emotion and fear and doubt as well as the positive dreams and desires until we don't truly understand who we are.

Here's what I lean on. God's love never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He doesn't get caught up in my junk. He is solid. That gives me hope.

Peace.

Kindness

Big gets attention. Small makes a difference.

I don't know that I fully agree with that statement, but I needed a big opening to get your attention. If I had started with something like "Kindness is one of the most undervalued and neglected attributes when it comes to bringing in the Kingdom of God", you might have stopped right there. (Maybe you stopped after the opening...humor me and keep reading!).

I was thinking about kindness today and what a big deal it is when people are kind. It might be just a smile or an offer of a helping hand but, as cheesy as it sounds, it really can have an effect on others. And it doesn't cost much to be kind.

We can take mission trips and speak to auditoriums packed with people and that is all great. We can endeavor to do "great things" for Jesus and I am all for that. More than these though, I am for speaking a kind word, whether to strangers or to your family. I am for offering to help when you have the ability. I am for looking for the bright spots and bringing light to a dark situation.

Kindness is listed in the Bible with love,joy, peace, patience...the big ones. How often do you ask God to help you be kind?

Maybe it's time to take another look at kindness and ask for enough of it to give away every day.

Peace.

Beginnings

I decided that I am going to write more in 2011. I know, I know, I have said that before and then I write for one day straight and nothing happens again for three months. This is a bit different. I am determined to put something on my blog once a day. That means that this could be the most random blog on Al Gore's Internet. The Lord only knows what might be put on this space with a once a day post.

I am already a day behind for the year and we are only two days in. That's not the greatest start. We'll just pick up from here and move forward.

Hold on to your drinks because I am headed for a rapid change of subject.

I am reading Douglas Adams book "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", a book given to me by my wife for Christmas. Years ago I had listened to the BBC Radio broadcast years ago and loved it but I had never read the book. This year I came across a list of the 100 books that everyone should read (or something like that) and this book was on it.

I don't know that it is a book for everyone. I really like it, but I think it's because I came in with an idea of the story. I think it would be a little tough to follow if you are coming into it with no idea what to expect. It is very creative and some of the writing is unbelievable. I would like someday to be able to write like Douglas Adams. Maybe not the same content, but the ability to string words together into a beautiful tapestry or to convey a thought in a memorable phrase.

Stay tuned. We'll see how this little experiment plays out.

Peace.