Living a Legendary Life … November 22nd, 2020

Slip-Slidin’ Away

If you’re intrigued with the notion of living a legendary life, you have to be aware of (and beware) slippage.

In olden times they referred to it as “backsliding”–allowing oneself to back away from principles once held dear because the temperature of the times have changed.

In the past ten years, we’ve allowed a streak of meanness to become acceptable. I’m sure this is no surprise.

But the meanness brings about a slippage in the attitudes of people toward each other–and even in the passion for life.

It’s like the proverbial rolling stone:

Those who were once merciful have slipped into being merely open-minded, leaving mercy abandoned.

The open-minded people have slipped to being generous–but only to people they know well or who are related to them.

Generous folks have backslidden to being kind–hoping that flashing a smile will suffice without having to commit to action.

And kind people, who used to think up ways to be contributors, have slipped to nice. If at all possible they will offer a pleasant countenance to the world around them–unless something odd happens.

At that point, nice people become careful. They will swear that the reason they become careful is because the world is screwed up and “you can’t trust anybody.”

And of course, careful people drop into being suspicious. They talk about animals being more trustworthy than humans.

And those who were naturally suspicious before become downright grouchy. They don’t even pretend to lead with a sweetness of spirit. It’s too risky.

And it goes without saying, there were people who were grouchy to begin with. They have become edgy–ready for a fight. Unfortunately, edgy people usually find that fight, and end up being bullies.

Bullies have become fighters and fighters are more violent.

The Republicans blame the Democrats and vice versa–but this problem of slippage did not come along with Donald Trump. Even if he exacerbated the problem, you have to admit that during the two terms of President Obama, there was a mind-boggling amount of fussing, arguing and struggling

You may consider this a “conservative” problem, or the “liberal media.”

But here’s something we all need to face:  If we’ve done everything we can do to improve our nation, our states, our cities, and there’s nothing more we can do, then perhaps it’s time for us to just work on ourselves.

Where have you slipped to?

Where have you fallen?

If even 10% of the population would raise their human effort up one notch, to the position they occupied before 2016, there would be such an improvement in the climate of this country that the other 90% would not be able to ignore it.

Now is the time to stop backsliding.

Let us lead the leaders. After all, there are no indication that government, business, education or religion is going to lead a resurgence in civil behavior.

No–it’ll be up to us. Let’s just take a look at our own slippage, and climb up one notch toward civility.

And my friends, it’s a necessary step if we’re going to lead legendary lives.

From the Stacks … November 20th, 2020

Jonathan had an acute awareness of the brevity of life. My son rediscovered this particular essay demonstrating that very thing and was moved by it. Jonathan wrote it on his birthday in 2011.

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Musings Upon Turning Sixty

 

I am a child of God

The heavens reverberate with a shudder of grief when I am in tears

The angels from a million pinnacles give a shout when I find joy

For I am part of a universal plan

A determining factor in His Almighty decision

Whether I fly by night or drive by day

All of heaven is hushed and brought to action

When I am in need …

This is a poem I wrote on a Greyhound bus when I was twenty years old, on my way to meet up with a friend who was in need. I had two packets of Zesta crackers, a can of Diet coke and exactly $1.25 in my wallet for other incidental expenses. I didn’t care. After all, I liked Zesta crackers. I also didn’t care that I had $1.25 in my pocket.

Truthfully, I still don’t.

I wake up this morning sixty years of age. My birthday

Sixty is significant.

First of all, you’re no longer in your fifties–that in-between season, in which you’re not quite an old codger yet, though you’re past many “studly” possibilities.

No, sixty is different.

It’s the gateway drug to Medicare.

There are sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour. Sixty is three twenties, six tens, four fifteens, twelve fives… Now I’m just being ridiculous.

The reason I shared the verse at the beginning of this essay is that I could have written it today and it would have been just as fresh and true.

I still believe it.

I still believe that I am a son of God–not in the sense that I must be careful handling my water glass, lest it gain alcoholic proportions, but a son of God because I am included in the mind of my Creator and Father.

Everybody in our generation is concerned about “liberal” and “conservative,” right and left–but honestly, my friends, I’ve always prayed for a straight, plain path and avoided the drastic turns based on society’s pressure to conform.

In the 1960’s, when I was  teenager, it was posh to cast a jaundiced eye towards civil rights and social reform while rallying around the American flag regarding Vietnam. It just never made sense to me to go halfway around the world to kill off the people in a small country in the name of democracy when we hadn’t yet given full rights to all of our citizens.

In the 1970’s, it was all about partying and lavishing oneself with platitudes of perfection and dancing the night away. Since I knew I wasn’t perfect and wasn’t a very good dancer, I chose to work on my personality, principles and trying to practice what I preached.

In the 1980’s, while the religious community was becoming obsessed with social issues, I continued to expound upon the notion that since God does not look on the outward appearance buts looks on the heart, we should spend more time working on our own internals and not so much about our other people’s  morality.

Likewise, in the 90’s and even coming into the 2000’s, I just could never sign on the dotted line” of the Contract with America. After all, who’s America were they talking about?

The reason for my choices?

It’s because I know how limited my faculties are, how fragile my talents and how weak my resolve.

The problem with self-esteem is that it so easily loses its steam–always having to be boiled up again. Truly, a waste of time, energy and talent, perpetuating self-involvement and little awareness of the needs of others.

Today I am sixty years old. How do I feel?

Starting with my feet–they feel about seventy-five.

My ankles are hangin’ in there at about fifty-two.

My knees are about ninety-one.

My hips maintain a really cool forty.

My waist? Well, let’s not go there.

My heart is a mystery, but certainly has more creaks than it used to.

My face has a myriad of ages, depending on how much sleep I get.

My eyes are a split vote–the right one an octogenarian, and the left one, still floating around thirty-five.

 My emotions are daily cleansed so they’re like a newborn.

My soul is always attempting to be as old as God but as young as a child.

And my brain? Well, my brain is still twenty years old, riding on that bus, believing that God cares …  about me.

Don’t be so concerned about the right and the left. Look at where you want to go–and steer your life straight ahead. Because after we’re gone, no one is going to discuss our faults, only our good points. If we don’t leave behind much of a record of righteousness, we probably won’t be mentioned at all. What I want people to remember is that I started out doing something and on the morning I passed, I was still doing it.

So let me call sixty a bookmark. 

I have fewer chapters to write than those that have already been edited.

But that means I have the complete capability of going for a great twist in the end.

From the Stacks … November 6th, 2020

This week, most of us are considering the notion that sometimes political outcomes have a stark affect on our lives. So I decided to explore some of Jonathan’s more socio-political ideas. He had a great disdain for politics but also a great hunger for justice–which sometimes required that he speak out on such subjects. Here’s one from January, 2014.

But Not Now

Everybody knows this is true: the main reason that government doesn’t work is that it avoids solutions by replacing them with discussions.

I wish I could tell you that conversing on a given subject brings about change. It does not. It is actually a way to dodge the work of transformation.

It usually shows up in the form of putting off the action.

This is not new. The ineffective nature of our government has been present since the beginning–how else could Adams and Jefferson have been such good friends? They tabled their issues. And how did they do it? What did they say to themselves?

“Something should be done–but not now.”

Here’s a quick list taken from my own memory banks:

1.In 1959 in the United States, the average white person contended that segregation was not ideal, but thought it was practical. In other words, they knew it was wrong–that black Americans should NOT be separate. Something should be done–but not now.”

2. Women should also be equal and have the identical pay scale as men. But not now.

3. Truthfully the minimum wage has never been sufficient for a human to be able to live, eat and prosper. Something should be done–but not now. It could wreck the economy.

4. Something should be done for the homeless–put them to work or offer alternatives to their present condition. But not now. It is much easier to discuss whether their condition is caused by lack of opportunity or by laziness.

5. It is obvious that gays and transgenders in our society must have complete equivalence if we want to maintain our concept of liberty and justice for all. But not now. What we want them to do is acquire moral acceptance before they are granted civil rights.

6. Political gridlock in our country is the result of a two-party system that gains power by maintaining power. We know we would be better off if this two-faced monster were beheaded, and many more candidates were offered to the electorate. But not now. Too disruptive to consider. Someone might lose that power they so enjoy.

7. Likewise, the electoral college is antiquated and needs to be replaced with the popular vote. But not now. What would we do with all the people who make their livelihood by honoring its cumbersome inner workings?

We don’t lack the intelligence or even the integrity to know what to do. But we nevertheless choose to be stalled in a lethargic fear of change.

The American government should take heed:

Americans are tired of discussions.

We are no longer willing to “table” justice and equality, which have been standing in the wings waiting to play their parts for lo, these many years.

It is time for America to grow up.

Maturity is when the truth of what must be done is more important than what is convenient.

From the Stacks … October 30th, 2020

There is much talk today of our nation running aground.

Is this true? The question drove me to the dictionary, to discover that a ship that “runs aground” has found itself in shallow waters.

Aha, I thought. Shallow. There you go. Thus the problem.

We used to believe that “still waters run deep,” until we realized that the adage doesn’t apply to a generation of people who refuse to speak because of the vacuous nature of their thoughts.

I am not quite so gloomy about our future. Yet I do not think it is the job of people who are creatively bent toward sharing wisdom to always kiss the rear end of the person in front of them.

We just need to realize that when a boat runs aground, it can neither float nor can it sail from its perch.

It must seek out deeper waters.

What has caused us to run aground?

My list:

1. By telling everybody we’re great, we have eliminated the word “great.
2. By electronically connecting ourselves to the world, we have emotionally disconnected ourselves from one another.
3. We have replaced actions with speeches, thinking that merely stating our intentions is sufficient to prove our willingness.
4. We allow the fostering of bigotry, even though it continues to taint both our history and our future.
5. We promote a war between men and women while simultaneously using sex to sell everything.
6. We foolishly think there is a permanent solution to problems rather than a gradual revelation in our everyday reality.
7. We value critique–one of the more useless human endeavors.
8. We accept mediocrity, hoping that others will accept our rendition.
9. We want to believe we are exceptional, even though every nationality that has pursued that particular philosophy has ended up being ruled by tyrants.
10. We think that problems can be solved corporately, when nothing ever happens in the human family without individuals repenting.

1 Thing You Can Do to Make Your World More Honest and More Friendly … October 26th, 2020

Decide What Is Truly Abrasive

This may sound like a simple task, but the statements that were once considered abrasive have altered considerably.

The actual definition of abrasive is “harsh, rough to the ear and showing little concern for the feelings of others.”

Here is a rather comical collection:

“King George is a tyrant.” In colonial days, this would have incited at least violence and possibly jail.

“Slaves should be free.”  If you had said that in Congress in 1851, you’d have been dubbed abrasive for sure.

“I love rock and roll.” Try that one in 1961 America.

“The Vietnam War is criminal.” In 1967, your father might have taken your car keys away.

“Black people should have the right to vote.” Obviously, there are people today who find this an abrasive statement.

“We should have a woman President.” Once again, that one will polish a rough surface or two.

Honestly, I think “abrasive” is a tough one.

Often there are things that need to be shared–even shouted from the housetops. If they’re not said, they can’t be heard and if they can’t be heard, the faith to change things for the better is never launched.

So how do I know when I’m abrasive? This is where it does get simple.

If I’m saying something because I was personally offended or if I have a hankering to offend somebody else just for the hell of it, you can pretty well guarantee–it’s abrasive.

But words that are said to cry out for freedom and protect the innocent may be initially considered abrasive, but history will laud them as prophetic and courageous.

Perhaps it would take an angel to discern all the subtleties in this process.

Perhaps we need a few more angels.

Living a Legendary Life … October 25th, 2020

Sitting 2

A Trio of Trouble

There is a trio of troubled troubadours who raise their ugly heads to sing off-key tunes, causing all of humanity to suffer in the listening.

They tour together. They only believe in each other, and they foster the conditions causing all the pain experienced on Planet Earth.

Pretty dramatic beginning, don’t you think?  Now that I have your attention, let me introduce these dunderheads of defeat.

Insecurity

The mother’s name is insecurity.

She hounds, pecks and nags to bring about her will. That will is very simple:  to establish the need for love rather than a love relationship.  She points out flaws and never forgives them. She discourages all attempts at improvement. She leaves her household barren of basic human confidence.

Superstition

Then she turns to her sister, superstition, to explain the rules of operation. Superstition lays the groundwork for the reasoning behind all the insecurity.  Superstition fosters the notion that there are supernatural reasons for the most natural of events. Superstition warns of dangers which are never realized and promotes prejudices for the alleged protection of all. Superstition promotes ritual over rhyme, practice over discovery and dogma over true belief.

And then, she invites the big brother to come in to seal the deal.

Arrogance

His name is arrogance.

Arrogance has an excuse for everything. Arrogance is clothed in fakery and armed with ignorance. Arrogance flexes its muscle to prove superiority.  Arrogance is the enforcer of all that makes us insecure and all that causes us to revere the superstitious.

The trio rampage through the human fold like a wolf at night, destroying all semblance of innocence and all sensation of protection. They fear no one but continue their mission of mayhem, seemingly unchecked by any mortal force.

Their only weakness is that they don’t seem to be able to function alone. When separated, the true essence of their nature shines through and exposes them.

• Insecurity is like a jealous child.
• Superstition resembles a baffled bungler of misinformation.
• And arrogance is an ignorant brute.

Fortunately for all human beings great and small, there is a threesome that counters the efforts of this diabolical trio.

Acceptance

Standing firmly and strongly in an intelligent profile against Mother Insecurity is acceptance.

Acceptance is the perfect counter against insecurity because it dismisses the notion that there is a foregone conclusion.  Acceptance accepts–first, ourselves for who we are.

Then, with a tremendous boost of confidence, acceptance allows differences in others.

Acceptance brings the productive idea that we don’t have to reinvent ourselves but instead can work with the package provided.

Logic

Logic has been summoned to counteract superstition.

Logic rarely has an opinion, but poses the well-placed question.

Logic wants to know if there is any history to the notion.

Logic desires evidence.

Logic is the element of life that has historically dismissed the errant philosophies that have brought us near the brink of destruction.  Can there be anything more god-like than the probing question that splits the darkness and demands, “Let there be light?”

Logic becomes faith when enacted by people of passion.

Humility

And finally, there is humility, which, for some odd reason, has gained a reputation for being weak. However, humility is always the profile taken by any  intelligent soul who knows there is always more to learn.

Humility feels no need to supersede the will of others, but only wishes to be a part of the whole.

As in the case of insecurity, superstition and arrogance, our three friends–acceptance, logic and humility–gain strength through one another.

Leading a legendary life is a decision to accept who we are and the identities of those around us, while logically requesting an explanation for events and humbly placing ourselves in the flow of humanity instead insisting on an arrogant seat of power above others.

Two Households

The trio of troublers: insecurity, superstition and arrogance.

The trinity of triumph: acceptance, logic and humility.

But you can be certain of this:  you will most certainly belong to one family or another.

3 Things … October 22nd, 2020

You Can Do to Be a Bridge to the People Around You

 

1. Become stubborn about the things that set people free instead of locking them into pre-existing conditions.

2. Stand tall on principles that have lasted for thousands of years instead of ideas that have just been hatched and posted on the Internet.

3. And use inspiration to hold up the road that crosses above the angry waters that exist between human souls.