Ingenuity

Ever hear about the Egg of Columbus?

Columbus was dining with many Spanish nobles when one of them said: ‘Sir Christopher, even if your lordship had not discovered the Indies (America), there would have been, here in Spain which is a country abundant with great men knowledgeable in cosmography and literature, one who would have started a similar adventure with the same result.’ Columbus did not respond to these words but asked for a whole egg to be brought to him. He placed it on the table and said: ‘My lords, I will lay a wager with any of you that you are unable to make this egg stand on its end like I will do without any kind of help or aid.’ They all tried without success and when the egg returned to Columbus, he tapped it gently on the table breaking it slightly and, with this, the egg stood on its end. All those present were confounded and understood what he meant: that once the feat has been done, anyone knows how to do it. (Girolamo Benzoni, History of the New World, 1565.)

Why is it that some of us think imaginatively and others do not? If your life is one of eking out a living in severe poverty, ok…, understandable. But for most people in developed nations this is a somber query. Is there a relationship between doing what you’re told, playing by the rules, living up to someone’s expectations of you, and non-creative thinking? Or is it our fear of being wrong, or fear of making a mistake that causes too many of us to think inside the box, exclusively?

It’s time we started thinking innovatively about, well, everything. Government agencies working together, a North American Economic Union, multi-purpose religious centers (Jews, Muslims & Christians using the same facility), then let our communities use it as a Country Club or Counseling Center in the afternoon or during the week. Or what about local families providing one meal a week through a delivery service for those going through tough times. Maybe even military personnel providing security for Banks & Day-Care Centers! Remember Johannes Gutenberg (printing press), Eli Whitney (cotton gin), Thomas Edison (electric light bulb), Marie Currie (radioactive elements), the Wright brothers (powered flight), Clarence Birdseye (frozen foods), Alexander Fleming (penicillin), Ralph Schneider (credit card), Stephanie Kwolek (Kevlar) Martin Cooper (cell phone), Steve Jobs (Apple), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Ray Fuller (Prozac).

So take that eccentric, whimsical idea tucked away in the back of your head or hiding in the back of your desk drawer— get it out, work on it. You may be the one person to discover, even to create a solution which no one else has thought of. Each of us has more God-given gifts than we will ever use; so go gentle with that egg.

 

Have a nice week,

Gary

Reading People

The medical profession has finally come up with a way for patients to convey the degree of pain they feel. Not completely accurate, mind you, but a far cry from former verbal descriptions. Everybody’s pain threshold is different. It’s a start.

Reading people is very important; not only in hospital rooms, but in everyday life as well. It is only as we put our agenda on pause and tune into the person, or the audience, that we will truly engage with them. Part of an adage from American writer William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) reads Before you speak, listen. Knowing something about the person, or group, with whom you are engaged assures some measure of improvement in the communication taking place. Reading between the lines, what is said, what is not, body language, eye contact, physical posturing, etc., all play a part in sensing the mindset of the other person. And unless they are totally self-absorbed, they should be trying to read your persuasions as well.

Too many of us think that most people understand exactly what we mean when we speak. Do not be so naïve. Irish Playwright and Essayist GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (1856-1950) said The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. Thus the importance of reading the other person. [This becomes more difficult with a larger audience, but it can be done.]

When it comes down to it, it is all about relationships. How well do you know your audience? The person with whom you are talking? How well do they know you? How transparent are you before others? Are you trustworthy? Do people hold confidence in what you say because of who you are? To be believed, you must BE believable. To inspire another, you must speak with authority and confidence. Of course, these things can be faked… for a time. But little cover-up is needed for the truth. (That’s why I trust God: I do not believe He is lying to me.)

There is a certain safety that surfaces when you are in the presence of a person who is trustworthy. We all want it and need it. You need to be both for all the people in your life—safe and trustworthy. So hone your people-reading skills. Listen before you speak. But be such a person that, when you are being scrutinized, you are uncovered as really clean.

 

Have a nice week,

Gary

Walls

Walls. Why walls?  Support, protection, set boundaries, privacy, safety, beautify, restrain, imprison. We need walls. We all have walls in our lives; some keep us safe; some provide definition; others, keep us from accomplishing our goals. Some walls are physical, solid, immovable (unless you have an M1 Abrams or a Paramount Marauder). Some are corporate, giving rise to good-‘ol-boy clubs and enigmatic alliances. Most walls are personal— built to keep others out; built to protect, to hide, to maintain one’s personal identity and privacy.

At multiple times during our life-span we will confront many walls that are seemingly insurmountable. Many of us will be stopped dead; for whatever reason we will not conquer that wall. We will learn to dwell, contentedly, next to it. At first we might try to climb over it or knock it down; but after a while we will grow comfortable and simply let things stay the same. Worse still, others will never approach their walls at all. They will rise to their level of competence in a field, a relationship, a skill, and never consider that there might be something better, more fulfilling, on the other side of that wall.

There are leadership consultants, counselors, and even friends who tell us to not consider these walls as obstacles, but rather as challenges. Describe it how you will, the wall remains. How will you approach it? Will you approach it at all? If it is a wall of protection it might not be wise to knock it down. If otherwise, be it professional, relational, emotional or mental, you will need to overcome it, push past it, to fulfill God’s design on your life. If you do not you will never be fulfill your quest for purpose; you’ll merely take what comes your way.

We need walls— to guard us, provide us shelter, and to set our ethical, moral boundaries. But certain walls may be more detrimental than necessary. If your walls are private, inner, secret, they may not provide you as much protection as you imagine: they may actually be holding you captive to your own insecurities and unstated fears. God never intends for any of us to live in fear and insecurity. If you need help breaking-out, overcoming, whatever…, find professional, and/or spiritual help. Too many of our walls are in fact more than merely psychological/emotional ones; they have a spiritual dynamic to them as well.

So, start climbing, scaling, drilling, pounding, tunneling, and shelling those walls that hold you back— one hammer-chisel at a time. Trust a friend, and trust in the God who made you, to supply you with the strength you will need for the task. You don’t have to be in this alone.

 

Have a nice week,

Gary

          Tired. Run down. Beat. Weary. Weak. Exhausted. These are some words that have become common descriptors in our personal vocabulary. There are some people with seemingly inexhaustible energy— toddlers, teenagers especially (after they get out of bed at 11:00 a.m.), twentysomethings, and Type-A’s. I’m not one of them; are you? There appears to be a collective malady that most of us sleep too little, eat too much, and work too hard (doing the wrong stuff). Something must change!

There is some poetry in the Judeo/Christian scriptures that offers us some good advice.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

-Psalm 1

            This first poem (originally expressed in song) compares those who delight in God, Blessed is the man, and those who do not, Not so the wicked. The first does not walk, stand, or sit under the counsel of the wicked, sinners, or mockers. Of course, we dwell in the midst of such people every day of our lives; but the decision to heed their “insights” is ours. The poet directs us to delight in the law of God. Though to postmodern ears this smacks of conservative boredom, its consequences are timeless— He is like a tree planted by streams of water. Image it, lie back in the grass under the tree and let the rushing water cool your weary soul and body.

The second type, the wicked, are merely picked up by the wind and blown away. A lot like I feel when I lose my focus and faith—blowin’ in the wind (Peter, Paul & Mary), but without any answers.

Blend the ideas of the above song with the final lines of another—

Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

-Psalm 40:31

            Waiting on the Lord is not meditating on emptiness; nor is it simply stillness. Rather, it is the concentration of our emotions, minds, and busyness on the One who can replenish our strength so we can soar on wings like eagles. You get the picture. Take in the view. Don’t let this ancient counsel fall on deaf ears.

Have a nice week,

Gary

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) once observed, “Many people are born crying, live complaining, and die disappointed.” It seems a malady of many that extends into history. People live their entire lives complaining about how everyone and everything is against them. They always have a reason, an excuse, why “it’s not my fault.” “Someone else didn’t do their part to make it possible me to do my part.” “I didn’t have time.” “I had a headache.” “The paperwork didn’t arrive on time.”

Pick a reason; there will always be one.

 

It’s called whining. Many of us make it a way of life- we cannot take hold of our lives, so we side-step the real issues, ourselves, and scapegoat the cause off on circumstances or someone else. Some of us seem to lack the fortitude and determination to fight our own foibles, our own ineptitudes, our shortcomings, and to overcome our failures. To be sure, it will always be easier to grumble about something than to dosomething to change it. It’s even easier to blame the whole thing on someone else.
It seems most of Western society is looking for any other cause for our own problems than ourselves. It obviously can’t be me that’s the problem? I’m not responsible for what I’ve done! It’s my parents, my lack of education, my skin colour, my sexual preference, my insecurities. I am NOT to blame!
A week after Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was fired (June 22, 1750) as pastor of his church in Northampton, MA, he penned this letter to a friend-

“I have nothing visible to depend upon for my future usefulness, or the subsistence of my numerous family. But I hope we have an all-sufficient, faithful, covenant God, to depend upon. I desire that I may ever submit to him, walk humbly before him, and put my trust wholly in him. I desire, dear, Sir, your prayers for us, under our present circumstances.”

Oddly, he stayed on in Northampton to preach in his church until they found a suitable replacement.  Edwards went on to become president of the College of New Jersey, later Princeton University.
If you find yourself a whiner, maybe it’s time you focused your eyes on the God who made you and learned that He has your best interest at heart. Trust Him. Maybe it’s also time for you to end the chronic attitude of complaining and do something to change your life situation. If, on the other hand, you find yourself living with a whiner, maybe it’s time you told them to take responsibility for their own failings, and admit their guilt. This may require you to help them overcome their own stumbling blocks; your reward will be the silence of their petulant grumblings.

 

Have a nice week,

Gary

 

EmPulse for the week of June 20, 2011

fundamental differences

Sooner or later, in the course of human interaction, we conclude that we have fundamental differences with certain other people, religious beliefs, corporate policies, or societal mores. In a pluralistic society the ideal is that we will all learn to get along in one big happy family; in the real world it doesn’t quite work out that way. Some of us form enclaves, huddling with our own kind. Others form protective cocoons about themselves as they move through evil society. In the marketplace of business all types of people are thrown together to achieve a common goal, to produce a particular produce, to contribute to the needs of people and to make a buck or two while doing so. The rub comes when people find they have fundamental differences about how to get things done. One person’s plans are dismissed while another’s are adopted: feelings are hurt, people are fired. Not always a pretty picture.

It is true—basic differences exist among people; religious beliefs, cultural traditions, leadership styles, and, of course, personality types. The trick is to, (a) not kill one another, (b) not to start with condemnation of what we do not understand, or (c) not to deny those basic differences. [… and the list goes on, of course.] As I have crisscrossed this blue marble suspended in space I have gained a wide-ranging perspective on life through other people’s vantage points, feeling their hopes, anger, disappointment, and loss.

In the grand scheme of things (read metanarrative) it comes down to the nature of Truth. Is Truth relative to time, era, and individual experience, as our postmodernist friends postulate?  Do we create our own truth within our own frame of reference? Or do we dare suggest that Truth resides outside-yet-alongside-of human experience and perception? We hold these truths to be self-evident… . Are they? Do we?

If we hold that Truth is relative, that is, relative to a particular situation, or era, or culture, or religious belief, then we have dragged down deep heaven upon us and made ourselves the arbiters of truth. This is a human arrogance of highest degradation.

It has been noted that we are all inhabitants of this lonely blue marble in the grand cosmic expanse. We will not always be able to push move our fundamental differences and learn to get along. To raise our voice and decree that we determine what is truth and what is not, that we, de facto, are the Creators of Truth, is an egotism that will push whatever fundamental differences exist among us to the point-of-conflict. We will be at war with ourselves and with God. Forgive us, Lord. Our task is to discover the Truth that already exists, whether in science or faith, and to live by it in humility. So help us God.

Have a nice week,

Gary

 

… just as long as you’re happy

Cute fuzzy kittens. Hot chocolate (with Fluff), curled up in front of a toasty fire. A diamond ring. A new car. A tropical beach in an exotic resort. A new home. Just as long as you’re happy. Why not!?! What else is there?

Might I suggest, against the flow of popular sentiment, that, though guaranteed “…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” by America’s Declaration of Independence, that happiness is not the end to which we should be striving. It should not be an end at all. Happiness, rather, is the proper byproduct of effort and service to society or another individual.

Pursuing happiness as an end in itself creates a deceptive sense of selfhood that is based on contentment rather than on a platform of considerate generosity. To be sure, there are some who give to feel good about themselves. Notwithstanding, they are still giving. But what if we were able to give purely from a motive of gallantry, or magnanimity? Scoffers will accuse that there is no such thing as a free lunch; that everybody wants something for their gift—recognition, admiration, etc. Yet I know many people who give graciously, sacrificially, who expect nothing, nothing, not even a thank you. They merely give because it is right.

No further happiness need be sought when a person’s individual integrity is in full blossom; when we steel our hearts and minds to a task, a challenge, an impossible situation which needs correction, the doing of it alone is the prize for its achievement. Happiness is merely a derivative of making a difference.

Therefore, if happiness is what you seek you pursue a wrong path. Instead, endeavor to make a difference, to add to the lot of others, to alleviate another’s suffering, poverty, or emptiness. It’s not about a free lunch, feeling good about yourself, or just as long as you’re happy. Life’s journey is to be shared with others—of greater means, of lesser means. We are each one on this planet for a short span of time. Our goal should be to make a difference, to leave a great legacy, in the changed lives of friends, communities, and nations.

And, yes, I like the picture of the fuzzy, grinning kitten.

 

Have a nice week,

Gary

EmPulse for Week of June 6, 2011

The history of amnesia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey…, I’m on vacation!

 

Have a nice week,

Gary

EmPulse for Week of May 30, 2011

“Везде, где есть корыто, там Вы найдете свиньи.”

Considered to be the father of modern Russian literature and the foremost of Russian poets, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799 – 1837), wrote a novella in 1832 that was not published until 1841, after his death. Dubrovsky. Though a tragic love story of a young nobleman (Dubrovsky) whose land was confiscated by a greedy aristocrat (Troekurov), who then falls in love with the aristocrat’s lovely daughter, Masha, and then gets shot in a duel with her father…, and, oh, never mind. The point is that in his novella, Pushkin grants us a less-than-gracious commentary on contemporary society with— Везде, где есть корыто, там Вы найдете свиньи.  Wherever there is a trough, there you will find pigs.

Sadly, this observation is blatantly apparent. It alludes to a world where prosperity abounds (aristocratic elitism); herein we find gentility, grace, refinement, philanthropy (to a point), and excessive amounts of money gathered together within the property of a small segment of population. Enter the pigs; those for whom enough is never enough; the greedy, ravenous, voracious predators whose appetite for more is insatiable. Such was the case in Pushkin’s era: such is the case in ours. It is observable from Wall Street speculators, to Hollywood’s wannabes. It pervades our pharmaceutical commerce down to our Welfare recipients. Where there is a trough… . Pigs.

When you were a kid what brought you delight? A bear, a doll, a new bat or magic star-wand? What satisfies you now? Granted, as we mature our desires mature alongside; but for many of us, we come to a point when our wants overtake our needs. We want everything, rationalizing that we truly need it. Hummm. Even so, in a society with an abundance of discretionary wealth expenses will ALWAYS rise to meet income. Pigs?

In every era throughout history there have been individuals who have forgone their station in life and chosen to do with less— Siddhārtha Gautama (the “awakened one,” the Buddha), Jesus (the “promised one,” the Christ), Charles Wesley, Mohandas Gandhi, Robert G. LeTourneau, Bill & Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet, David Rockefeller— all lived/live on far less than life might have granted them. ALL gave away more then they needed to live, from Jesus’ fish to THE PLEDGE [the group of billionaires who have agreed to give away 50% of their personal wealth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge)]. But giving is not the exclusive business of billionaires. You and I have just as much responsibility to care for our world’s needy as do they.

The buck stops here.

Rather, the buck should start here. In these days of financial hardship for many, it should behoove us to give out of our poverty as much as others can give from their wealth (Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4). We are none so poor as to lack a modicum of grace toward others. And it’s not just about the money.

There will always be Toughs aplenty that draw us to suck of their bounty. There will always be Pigs who will do so. But we can choose to do otherwise…, in every area of life.

Have a nice week,

Gary