1 Thing You Can Do This Week (To Be Right-Minded)

There is a vibration that comes off of us when our thinking is aligned with the circumstances at hand and it is obvious that our spirit is willing to negotiate some bumpy roads. We can feel it in each other.

Even though we develop a tolerance for those who pull up weak and find themselves clamoring for assistance, there is a sense in our tribe that we wish each one of us would “get our minds right” and therefore be a contributor instead of a taker.

The one thing you can do this week to communicate to all the delightful souls around you that you are right-minded is simply:

BE WRONG AND OWN IT

If you are able to maintain your enthusiasm, people will trust you to pick up the pieces of the mistake and restore wholeness.

But if you cop an attitude, blame everybody around you and seem to have deflated your balloon, then people will take the opportunity out of your hands and find someone else to do it.

At that point you can feel free to pout, but you’ve already communicated through your despair that you’re not prepared to repair. The goal for this week:

AND AGAIN I SAY, BE WRONG AND OWN IT

As you maintain your enthusiasm, just watch. People will rally to your side, and trust you to try again.

 

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Salient…June 4th, 2018

 Jonathots Daily Blog

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There are matters that are too important to ignore or leave to chance. These are salient moments.

You can “go crazy” or you can “stay sane.” One requires you go and another suggests you stay.

If you intend on spending your life chasing what is popular, convinced that the numbers, profit margin and adulation is proof of its value, then you will end up constantly finding yourself splashing down into a pool of disappointment.

After all, consider the word popular–it “pops up,” and then, when it’s proven to be insufficient for human growth, it pops again, like a balloon, and goes away.

Here is a statement: virtue, love, tenderness, creativity, gentleness and honesty will never be popular.

You will never get the majority of the people to agree at any single moment to swing their weight in the direction of faith, hope and charity. These attributes are enduring.

Those who stay and follow them, when the “crazy” goes away, will find themselves positioned to be of help for friends and family who were wounded by the latest failed fad.

You might ask, what’s the difference between crazy and sane?

Crazy is any movement that suggests that the absence of mercy will achieve progress.

Sane is understanding that the greatest progress we can make is to apply mercy to every situation.

It’s all about mercy. There is no kindness without mercy. There is no love without mercy. Mercy is realizing that even if things don’t get better, we can work with what we have to find some good.

This will never be popular.

There will be more screams for revenge, vindication and violence as the years go by.

You can “go” after these causes, but you’ll end up crazy. Or you can “stay” with the power of mercy and remain sane.

So here is your salient moment:

There will be many voices in the wilderness. If you follow them you will go crazy.

There will always be an opportunity for mercy. If you embrace it, sanity will be your prize.

 

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Populie: People Want to be Free … October 1, 2014

Jonathots Daily Blog

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Freedom is great. A very popular battle cry.

People want to be free. Hold on a second. We just stepped into a populie.

Even though entertainment, politics and religion love to tout the power of a struggle in which someone or some people who are oppressed gain independence from an oppressor, the truth of the matter is, most of the world is not free nor does it desire to be.

Even though since our inception, we evangelistically have preached the gospel of 1776 all over the world, we’ve had few takers.

Cuba, the Philippines, Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Afghanistan and Iraq have all felt a push from us to accept our form of government, only, in varying degrees, to opt for their own choice.

I think it’s important to understand what people do want:

1. People want to be free of responsibility.

It’s a garden-variety human error–and when I say “garden,” I mean Eden. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the devil. We’re just repelled by the notion of being held accountable for deeds.

Even though many countries do grumble about the King, the Parliament, the Magistrate or even the Dictator, the structure grants them a scapegoat between reality and their need to change.

2. People want to be rich.

I did not say that people want to work. People want to satisfy the passing whim, which in their minds means having obtuse amounts of cash to throw at the latest fancy. Even if the craving is just their daily bread, they would rather believe that they don’t have to bake it.

3. People want to be free of people.

We have come to the conclusion that the greatest interference in our lives is the competition from other human beings, which tends to split a pot, prohibiting us from becoming rich and independent.

So you can see, the American rendition pontificated by Jefferson by proclaiming, “all men are created equal,” immediately runs into a wall of resistance by those who are running from responsibility, seeking riches and always somewhat angry at their neighbors.

We must be honest, in 1861, we couldn’t get the North and South in America to agree that “people want to be free.”

So is there an answer?

First of all, let me say that I believe the true definition of imperialism is thinking that the joy, peace, contentment and direction you have found in your life can be transferred to other people by forcing them, or even by teaching them.

Frankly, I’m not so sure that we all evolved directly from the monkey–but we do like to ape the success we see, rather than having it legislated for us.

America will eventually have to let the countries of the  world find their own way instead of treating them like errant children who need to be punished.

I don’t mean to burst anyone’s balloon, but people don’t want to be free. So the best thing we can do to help our fellow-men is to:

A. Make things simpler

B. Make things more reasonable

C. And make sure our country, churches and entertainment are less judgmental.

 

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You can’t punch people in the nose and expect to get Christmas cards … July 15, 2013

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I had another delightful day with human beings in Austin, Minnesota.

Candidly, what makes it delightful is the variety of experiences which floated my way. Actually, over the years I’ve learned there are three basic types of individuals:

1. The person who has the demeanor of “I’ve been marchin’ around for some time and my feet hurt.” They’re not mean, but it would take an awful lot of helium to fill their balloon and make ’em look like they were ready for a party.

2. This group carries the attitude: “I’ve been marchin’ around and I’m mad about the march, so get out of my way.” You can see, a little bit more negative energy.

3. And then, there’s the folks who have discovered that the life they’ve been given is the only one they’re going to get, so they have decided, “I’m gonna STOP marching, and just enjoy the walk.”

This was exemplified last night in a lovely woman who came to my book table with her family and related a story about being in the process of moving into a new house. She said that opportunities and surprising benefits had come their way to furnish that house without them having to struggle or worry. It was such a delightful tale because this family has discovered a key to life: God is not out to hurt anyone. Nor is He particularly out to help anyone.

Now, I know this causes many theologians to curl up in a ball and explode, but it’s the truth. If God is no respecter of persons, He can’t choose a handful and make them His pet project. Let’s just take a quick moment to look at what God has ALREADY done:

He has created human beings, of which I am one. That’s pretty remarkable, don’t you think? If He never did anything else but just THAT, He could call Himself God. But  He didn’t stop there. He blessed us with a beautiful planet, the pleasure of procreation and a kingdom of fruitfulness which is under our dominion, especially if we use it wisely. (Goll-eee, Dad. Thanks. You not only let me get my license, but you bought me a car!)

But He still wasn’t done. He made this earth explainable through science, technology, spirituality and wisdom, so much so that we can get a handle on how it works by whether the clouds roll in or the sun peeks through.

So what do we have so far?

We are created marvelously, blessed with gifts, and are handed a detailed road map.

And is this enough? No–we want to be favored. We want to have the burden of responsibility removed from our shoulders. We want God to relieve us of the need to function by surrounding us with a bubble of grace.

No wonder some people get grumpy and want to punch everybody in the nose. But it doesn’t win friends and influence people.

Life is not a race to heaven OR a march to hell.  It is an opportunity for us to slow up and enjoy ourselves, absorb the scenery … and relish our walk.

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