Holding On

​I used to think...that you needed to learn how to hold on tighter to what you wanted. Now I know that letting go is necessary.

Early Success

​Early success is probably the worst thing that can happen in life.

-- Satya Nadella

So?

'Poem selection' for the week -- “So?”:

So you aren’t Tolstoy of St. Francis
or even a well-known singer
of popular songs and will never read Greek
or speak French fluently,
will never see something no one else
has seen before through a lens
or with the naked eye.

You’ve been given just the one life
in this world that matters
and upon which every other life
somehow depends as long as you live,
and also given the costly gifts of hunger,
choice, and pain with which to raise
a modest shrine to meaning.

-- Leonard Nathan

How Does One Reconcile...?

​How does one reconcile these two things: that the heart is deceitfully wicked (above all things) and that God has placed His Spirit in our heart?

Prayer.

'The Game' 2016

It never really comes down to just one play...or does it?

Sooner

​The sooner you start living for something else, the sooner you will start receiving something else.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.

-- Edward Sandford Martin

www.youversion.com

Be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

-- Colossians 3:15-17

...because one could easily almost begin to vibrate at the extent of goodness we have received from God.

Thanksgiving Day is an opportunity to turn of our faces away from fear and negativity, from sorrow and loss, from control and lack, and turning toward the simple graces in which we are surrounded.

-- Wm. Paul Young

Developed

Muscle has to be developed. Every muscle, real or metaphorical, needs exercise to grow.  ...even the muscle of gratefulness.

Being Grateful

How is gratitude developed? Does it just happen?  Is it a state of being?  What are the conditions that generate our giving of thanks?

I am thankful for things like ease and comfort, but I am often the most grateful for what the hardest things in my life have taught me, given me.

Praise Song

'Poem selection' for the week -- “Praise Song”:

Praise the light of late November,
the thin sunlight that goes deep in the bones.
Praise the crows chattering in the oak trees;
though they are clothed in night, they do not
despair. Praise what little there's left:
the small boats of milkweed pods, husks, hulls,
shells, the architecture of trees. Praise the meadow
of dried weeds: yarrow, goldenrod, chicory,
the remains of summer. Praise the blue sky
that hasn't cracked yet. Praise the sun slipping down
behind the beechnuts, praise the quilt of leaves
that covers the grass: Scarlet Oak, Sweet Gum,
Sugar Maple. Though darkness gathers, praise our crazy
fallen world; it's all we have, and it's never enough.

-- Barbara Crooker


Fall Tree Of The Day:

No Idea Where I Am Going

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

-- Thomas Merton

SM Brunch 10: Mindfulness, Change, and Dream Peace

More Saturday Mornings Brunch:

Improve your character through mindful striving or let your character worsen through negligence and obliviousness.

-- Buddha

****
The human mind is a lot like the human egg, in that the human egg has a shut-off device. One sperm gets in, and it shuts down so that the next one can’t get in. The human mind has a big tendency of the same sort. According to Max Plank, the really innovative and important new physics was never really accepted by the old guard. Instead, a new guard came along that was less brain-blocked by its previous conclusions.

-- Charlie Munger

****
We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change.

-- Sheryl Sandberg

****

Going Too Far

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.

-- T.S. Eliot

The Future

​Nobody knows the future. In the future, we look at the past to see what was going on in the present for an indicator of what will be going on in the future. But the reality still is, nobody knows the future. We can only wish we could have known it.

...although, sometimes, we're glad we didn't.

Leaders Letting Go

It is important to understand why letting go is so hard for so many leaders. Successful enterprises tend to be built by vigorous leaders with strong opinions and forceful personalities. If you make great sacrifices, pour all of your energy and the very best years of your life into creating an enterprise or an institution, it is impossible to not be profoundly attached to your creation. The combination of a forceful opinionated personality and great love for the institution, makes it difficult to watch as a successor dismantles part of your legacy. As every disgruntled and anxious employee seeks solace and support in you, it takes a great deal of restraint to not leap back into the fray.

The second reason is that, frequently, your identity becomes intertwined with the enterprise. It is entirely natural to wonder “who am I if I am not the CEO of X?” Will people still respect me and flock to me? How do I stay relevant? After years of being in the limelight, fading away gracefully is not easy for many leaders.

-- Ravi Venkatesan

By Hand

​I like writing by hand because it slows me down and it keeps me from writing at a pace faster than I can think.

-- John Irving

Write It Down

​Organic: When it happens or when you think about it, write it down; otherwise it tends to evaporate.

When I Became a Christian

'Poem selection' for the week -- "When I Became a Christian":

When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in,
Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin.
He said, Your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen – I think.
I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink,
Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen – I think.

But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said,
I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.
Well, yes, he said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen – a bit.
A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen,
I’m not entirely sure, can we just run through that again?
You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit,
Well, yes, I’ve made my mind up, and I say, Amen – a bit.

Well I sat back and thought a while, then tried a different ploy,
Now, Lord, I said, the Good book says that Christians live in joy.
That’s true he said, you need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow,
So do you want to follow me, I said, Amen – tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll say it then, that’s when I’ll say Amen,
I need to get it clear, can I just run through that again?
You say that I will need the joy, to bear the pain and sorrow,
Well, yes, I think I’ve got it straight, I’ll say Amen – tomorrow.

He said, Look, I’m not asking you to spend an hour with me
A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity,
The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit,
Now tell me, will you follow me? I said Amen – I quit.
I’m very sorry Lord I said, I’d like to follow you,
But I don’t think religion is a manly thing to do.
He said forget religion then, and think about my Son,
And tell me if you’re man enough to do what he has done.

Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,
Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,
Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,
To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.
And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,
The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend,
Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry?
When nails break your body-are you man enough to die?
Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,
Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down,
Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again?
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen; Amen, Amen, Amen,
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said, Amen.

-- Adrian Plass

Leonard Cohen Dead at 82

Words of tribute like this seem only capable of falling short for the man, Leonard Cohen.  My wife knows how I feel about him...how many times have I asked her to listen to one of his songs with me, while tears fall down my cheeks.  She has a couple of song instructions for my own funeral.  

I remember binge-listening to Leonard's songs with a friend or two during a season of painting work I did some years ago.  He had an ability to write about life in a unique and powerful way -- at the highest level about the lowest of things. It's kind of weird to call someone you've never met a friend, so I don't know how to claim that status, but he was a kind of friend to me, even if he never knew it.  Many people feel the same.

Here is a link to a stream of the title track, "You Want It Darker", from his recently released 14th album.

One estimate of his Top 20 songs (with some pretty great descriptions in their own right) can be found here.  Surprisingly, perhaps to some people, "Hallelujah" isn't #1.  One of my favorites, "Anthem", is #14.  The point really isn't the ranking, but the songs themselves and the man, as reflected in this interview about Leonard's impact on his son, Adam.

To Not Find Out

How much of what we don't know about ourselves is due to having put or kept ourselves in a position to not find out

What if our ignorance is largely a consequence of our own choices?


You understand so little of what is around you because you do not use what is within you.

-- Hildegard of Bingen

Ernie Johnson: 2016 Election

If you don’t know who Ernie Johnson is, this will explain a lot.

Rough And Hardened

I'm grateful (Geri) for this image and thought:

​…the heart of this country does not beat in Washington, DC, nor does its soul lie in a seat of power, nor does its destiny lie in which party occupies which section of government.

No, those things all lie with…people like you and me, people who get up and go to work and love their tiny plot of Earth and whose hands are rough and hardened by loving and giving.


-- Billy Coffey, The Heart of this Land

Election Day: Unless It's Pushed

Government doesn’t move unless it’s pushed.

-- Yvon Chouinard

I've been contemplating the merits of this claim.

And, another thing; there is something a bit indescribable about all of us participating in one common choice on a day like today -- a mysterious kind of unity, in spite of all the divisiveness surrounding it.

I find myself wondering why we elevate this kind of choice, above others.  It doesn't take much to posit some ideas.  But, it strikes me that, though significant, it is our other choices, the ones we make day after day after day, that are more important.  Could it be that our divisions would be less if we focused more on these much more regular choices, than the one we tend to imagine as critical today...like choosing the right candidate for President?

Our choices matter; if we believed that, then perhaps government would not need so much 'pushing'.

Fanatics Do Not

​Wise people admit doubts; fools and fanatics do not.

-- Bertrand Russell

Still At Work

​God is the Creator, or perhaps as one song put it, the Creating One. And, because this is true, He is still at work...creating.

...among other things, an antidote to worry.

The Epidemic of Worry

We’ve had a tutorial on worry this year. The election campaign isn’t really about policy proposals, issue solutions or even hope. It’s led by two candidates who arouse gargantuan anxieties, fear and hatred in their opponents.

As a result, some mental health therapists are reporting that three-quarters of their patients are mentioning significant election-related anxiety. An American Psychological Association study found that more than half of all Americans are very or somewhat stressed by this race.

Of course, there are good and bad forms of anxiety — the kind that warns you about legitimate dangers and the kind that spirals into dark and self-destructive thoughts.

In his book “Worrying,” Francis O’Gorman notes how quickly the good kind of anxiety can slide into the dark kind. “Worry is circular,” he writes. It may start with a concrete anxiety: Did I lock the back door? Is this headache a stroke? “And it has a nasty habit of taking off on its own, of getting out of hand, of spawning thoughts that are related to the original worry and which make it worse.”

That’s what’s happening this year. Anxiety is coursing through American society. It has become its own destructive character on the national stage.

Worry alters the atmosphere of the mind. It shrinks your awareness of the present and your ability to enjoy what’s around you right now. It cycles possible bad futures around in your head and forces you to live in dreadful future scenarios, 90 percent of which will never come true.

Pretty soon you are seeing the world through a dirty windshield. Worry dims every sunrise and amplifies mistrust. A mounting tide of anxiety makes people angrier about society and more darkly pessimistic about the possibility of changing it. Spiraling worry is the perverted underside of rationality.

This being modern polarized America, worry seems to come in two flavors...continue here.

-- David Brooks

Forget the Field, Hit The Books

Corrosion

The things that break all at once aren’t really a problem. You note that they’ve broken, and then you fix them.

The challenge is corrosion. Things that slowly fade, that eventually become a hassle--it takes effort and judgment to decide when it’s time to refurbish them.

And yes, the same thing is true for relationships, customer service and all the 'soft' stuff that matters so much.

-- Seth Godin

Chicago Cubs Bury Curse With First World Series Title in 108 Years

What an amazing year, World Series, and Game 7!  More here....

And, a touching Michiana Chronicles story about some of the history behind the fans' chorus, "Go Cubs Go": A Toast to the Ultimate Cub Fan

I've Noticed: Myself or God?

I've noticed...that I ask God for help in order to know myself better, when I could be asking for help to know Him better.

...the two, in fact, are not mutually exclusive. But, one without the other is.

Different Kinds

​It probably goes without saying that there are different kinds of leadership. The question isn't so much which is wrong or which is right as it is what kind of leadership is needed at a particular place or point in time.