The problem is not the problem … February 7, 2012

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From Miami, Florida

Once you give it a name, you start the game.

That’s right. At least 80% of our success is determined by our perception of what is set before us. So if you decide to name your child “Hitler,” you have pre-conditioned the public to receive your offspring as something that he may not be, but is stuck with because of the name. And if you call every situation that comes your way a problem, you have warned yourself, others, God and the universe that you are anticipating a struggle instead of prepared for a solution.

Some people might be offended by this concept or even think it’s a little silly. After all, what is the actual difference between using one word over another in any given circumstance? Well, it’s the difference between your loved one receiving a “thank you” from you and only getting a grunt. Jesus was right–by our words we are justified and by our words we are condemned. Until we grow up enough to cease and desist from viewing every cumbersome obstacle in our lives as a problem instead of just our daily bread of crustiness, we will send out a beacon of desperation and frustration which not only lends itself to wasting time instead of working on solutions, but also is one of the most unattractive vibes you can communicate to your fellow-humans.

Of the great turn-ons in life, exasperation lies somewhere near the bottom. Yet for some reason or another, we languish in the luxury of worry, we fester in our own fussiness and we question whether there is going to be enough of something-or-another to get us through to the next way-station of possibility.

The problem is not the problem. The problem with society is me–and dare I include you? We are spoiled rotten by the notion that fun is to be free of entanglements. We are overly cared for by a God who perhaps has provided TOO much for our comfort and not enough for our ongoing discovery. It makes us brats. So we come out of daily events calling them problems, wringing our hands, sighing and communicating our desperation.

I think somewhere deep in our hearts, we believe we can scare trials and tribulations into avoiding us by displaying enough bad attitude. Unfortunately, these vices are tricksters; they LOVE to attack people who are grouchy. You can imagine if you were a trial, how frustrating it would be to come up with a really big package of aggravation, and then to have your hopes for turning someone into a grump doused by their sense of good cheer. It would be enough to make you want to go down the road and bother someone else.

Exactly.

Am I saying that people who complain actually end up having more problems than people who don’t? Absolutely. And how does that happen, you may ask? It’s really quite simple. When the next set of opportunities comes on the scene, the complainer is still fretting over the last batch of bullies. So not only is there a new dilemma, but also an old dilemma that has not been adequately dealt with. Double-trouble.

So why ARE there situations which some people call problems? Because God in His mercy would love to see our planet running smoothly by the use of intelligence and effort instead of bad attitudes and laziness. To bring this to the forefront demands that each one of us join in a common lottery of activities which we either view as our daily situation or as our overwhelming problem.

This is the quandary in our country. We seem to think we will scare away our economic trials with bad attitude and lazy, over-done solutions. Meanwhile, the recession just sits there and laughs at us. It will take intelligence and effort for us to come out of this situation. Until we push forward some intelligent people and actually get behind those bright bulbs with some energy of our own, we will continue to linger in bad attitudes and laziness.

What is intelligence? It has two parts: (1) “I will not freak out.” (2) “God has never deserted me–why should now be different?”

What is effort? (1)  “What do I have?” (2) “How can I get more with what I have?”

Therein lies the secret, my friends. This twenty-four-hour period will afford you many situations. If you refuse to freak out, and believe that God has been faithful in the past and has not changed His occupation, while taking an inventory of what you have and finding a way to use that to get more– honestly, you’re ten feet tall and bullet-proof. But if you have a bad attitude (“why do things have to be so difficult?”) and you’re lazy (“I’m still tired from yesterday’s stuff!”) you will compile a series of box-cars of unresolved conflict, which will link up to become an insurmountable train, furiously careening its way down the tracks towards you.

The problem is not the problem. Life consists of situations which, if addressed with intelligence and effort, more or less just vanish in the wind. But if I choose to have a bad attitude and sprout laziness, those “problems” are given over to the care of my worry and frustration.  Is it possible to relearn this? It is not only possible, it is the only way to truly be passable.

So what is today’s situation? Stop calling it a problem and bring some intelligence and effort–and then see if the stain of adversity isn’t wiped clean.

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Jonathan wrote the gospel/blues anthem, Spent This Time, in 1985, in Guaymas, Mexico. Take a listen:

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http://www.janethan.com/tour_store.htm