DIRECTION,PURPOSE AND FAITH

DIRECTION, PURPOSE AND FAITH

 

Face down, inches from a plateful of fried Icelandic Cod, the hunched over senior seated at the end of the table is feasting at   his favorite Friday Fish fry.  An olive tinged skin color and brooding face says “I am old and a failure”.  He appears aged, tired, defeated. No polite way to phrase the observation. Attired in a faded, wrinkled, oversized Brooks Brothers Ivy League shirt, he looks to have been defeated by life’s tsunami of misfortunes. 

 

Table talk centers around the weather and his decades long deteriorating health. The list includes flat feet, by pass surgeries, failing eye sight, hip replacement surgery.  It seems the list could be much longer.  Everyone at the table pities this poor guy.

 

He announces proudly “Next month I am eligible for Medicare”.  Receiving this government entitlement is an important milestone in his life providing a glimmer of hope to a man down on his luck.  We all give him a positive, caring smile.

 

Seeing an opportunity to turn the conversation to the positive, we ask about his daily activities since he has retired.  Nothing he says, nothing. “I don’t do a damn thing”. Topics such as his grand children, the Packers, ice fishing on the lake, all fall on deaf ears. He appears to be directionless, purposeless, faithless.  Life has been a sad, lonely journey,

 

Years of inactivity, over eating, carousing, contribute to his appearance of being a person living on the streets.  Fleshy jaws are swollen as he sits with shoulders bowed looking submissively at those at the table. What occurred inside the soul of this once energetic, athletic, successful executive?

 

Another lively table is occupied by  millennials.  We marvel at these young geniuses who are mature beyond their years.  They demonstrate the knowledge and intuition of a 50 year old when they are about 25.  The fast track to personal and professional success awaits those who are prepared to grab onto the brass ring.

 

Conversely, some unfortunately have the premature demeanor and attitudes of aging seniors. In this regard, they out pace their peers.  The mantle of a 70 year old is carried by someone three decades their junior.  A lifetime of potentially missing the joys and opportunities of life  await. 

 

One wonders which comes first; the physical deterioration of the body or the loss of a zest for experiencing life.  What causes some to prematurely cash in their chips and check  out.  There may be a describable combination of energy, direction and faith which determines our future path.  Our deepest inner voices persuasively talk to us as we confront life’s important junctures.  These situations are essential to enhancing our mental and physical health while concurrently deepening our purpose and faith. We label them  as miracles.

 

The rapidly aging man at the fish fry is a poignant example of living life with a negative focus.  This concentration leads to loneliness, grumpiness and a fatalistic attitude towards the future.  He can save himself from these shortcomings if he trusts his God and those who love the teetering old man.

 

In a positive vein, the possession of a sense of direction, purpose and faith serve as life’s foundation for enriching spiritual regeneration. All of these are priceless. None can be purchased from a local retailer.  They are found in our quiet moments of reflection, our conversations with God as well as those times when we share our souls with people we love and trust.

 

WHEN DOES LIFE END?

The balding, punchy, bent over guy seated at the
last fish fry of Lent looked –old. No other way to phrase it-
He looked old, tired, beaten, defeated. Prosperous but defeated.
Discussion topics drowned on about physical maladies – his bad feet,
and by-pass surgeries. How he had to ride a golf cart instead of walk the
flat local course.
“ Next month I am eligible for medicare” he proudly announced.
And oh yes – he enjoys doing nothing most days since retiring.
Attempts to discuss positive events such as the Green Bay Packers
winning the Super Bowl turned to – what if they have injured players
next year and can’t repeat. It sounded like a fear of enjoying the moment:
out of a dread that something terrible might soon follow.

Armageddon is on the horizon? The grim reaper is in the next room.? The bubonic plague is returning in all its indescribable horror? Life is a video about Russian roulette.

Twenty years ago we had a similar negative tinged conversation with
this same gentleman. At that time he was “ looking forward to “retirement”.
Life was a drag. Work was a bore. And the main topic of discussion
was the awesome 45 minute to work each day. Such self-pity.

His shirt swallowing the increasing girth, jaws swollen with flesh, shoulders bowed, what happened inside the soul of this once energetic, athletic ,
successful financial executive more than 20 years ago?

As a society, we collectively marvel at those who are “mature beyond their years – those who Have the insight and perception of a  50 year old when they are 25.
A gift which many embrace and cherish.

Conversely, why do some people have the premature demeanor and attitude of agers?
Seemingly before the time of their peers? In may ways they seem to carry
the mantle of a 65 year old when they are 35 or 40. A lifetime spent missing the
many joys and opportunities of middle age. No middle age crises here – he drives a Chevy Nova.

One wonders which came 1st – physical ailments or the loss of zest for life?
What causes people to cash in their chips when in their 40’s and 50’s?
Are they happy? Is their main objective in life to hope the race ends sooner
rather than later?

Is life merely an endurance contest rather than a gift to be enjoyed during the limited time we have on this earth? We hope the days of wine and roses are more prevalent than the gray skies portending gloom and doom.

When does life end?

“ BROTHERS AND SISTERS, HEAR MY PRAYER

The great religions of the world have their special holiday seasons.
Whether it be Lent, or Ramadan or Passover.
All require commitment, sacrifice, and prayer.

A common query of our family “ What did you give up for lent?
Is it chocolate, or booze, or television?

Muslims give up food from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan
Truly a sacrifice in the energy depleting sacrifice heat of the desert.

And so, we look inward during this period leading up to the torture
Mockery, and death of Jesus on the cross.
Ever put a crown of thorns on your head – painful to say the least
Let alone nails in your hands, hanging from a tree for hours.
So our sacrifice is indeed minimal.

Sunday services are imbued with somberness. Dark, blood red is the prevalent color.

And so, we begin.

The cantor sings: “ Brothers and sisters hear my prayer, for I have sinned”
Followed by many verses of this same pleading, melodious chant.
Look around. The 80 ish lady standing next, adorned with jewelry and coiffure with elegance
rises alone, by herself. Face crisscrossed with deep dark lines, back straight
Tears running down her proud cheeks: “ Brothers and sisters hear my prayer, for I have sinned.
One wonders, what malfeasance could be so great that her heart is torn?

Garish, frightening tattoos decorate the neck of the young father .
Leather jacket, dirty jeans, well worn sneakers
Holding his daughter tightly, showing he will protect her against all evil.
Straight as a marine on guard, he faces the altar
Grim, determined, he sings “ Brothers and sisters hear my prayer, for I have sinned”.
What does his appearance tell us about his past and present.
Here he is standing before the crucifix
Let’s hope he gets the benefits of forgiveness.

Amazing what happens to a group of people praying for forgiveness.
Eyes front, no one glances to see the face of the person next to them
A very focused congregation, desiring their own space, their own private thoughts.

Silence. A all quietly settle into the benches.
Even the small children seem to be entranced by the body love of their parents.

The priest, a 50ish something Irish guy, large enough to have played for the Packers is
A loud laughing, hand slapping, love everyone guy. He always has a smile and a kind word.
Seemingly encircled by his blood red stole he strides to the front of the altar.
Strange, this is not the usual format of the service. The congregants shuffle in their seats.
Steal a questioning sideways glance at their pew mate.
After all, in each Catholic Church throughout the world the format is the same.
THIS IS NOT THE FORMAT!!

Loud, booming, trembling the priest proclaims: “ Brothers and sisters hear my prayer, for I have sinned”.
Laying prostrate on the altar, he slowly, deliberately, in obvious pain, removes the sacred clerical
vestmants.
Again he faces his flock, those who have trusted him for 5 years: Louder and with anguish he proclaims:
“ Brothers and sisters hear my prayer, for I have sinned”.

He not so subtly nods towards the back of church.
Lovingly he holds his bible close to his heart
Eyes front, not looking at anyone, his shame apparent to all.
He begins the slow walk down the aisle.
Indeed a walk of public shame, A walk he chose to make.
“Oh my God “yells the fainting woman as she collapses..
“ No father” say it isn’t so cries a young mother.
“You dirty bastard “screams a man of 50, a former altar boy.
The walk reaches the end of the church,
An embarrassed, shy state trooper, also a parishioner, escorts the sinner to the waiting car.

It is over, another chapter in a seemingly endless saga.
The people have been sacrificed. Faith is again questioned. Shock and awe .
In the words of an old hymn. Where were you when they hung him on the cross?

A time for reflection and sacrifice

WORRY – THE RAVEN SAYETH “ NEVERMORE”

Thousands of sports fans “worry”.
Sales of anti stress medications had to skyrocket during the recent NFL Playoffs
Of course, over the counter mind solvents such as Johnny Walker and Miller Draft
Also took the place of 20th century pharma pain killers.
The stomach churning continued even though the results were beyond the control of fans
In the event your team was victorious, celebrations were exponentially greater than
Civilized societies can expect from the citizenry… Go Packers Go is the new state motto.

On a more serious note, worrying is a matter of avoidance.
It is an attempt to avoid anticipated potential threats.
The dour, pessimistic, bomb throwing nay sayers are expert worriers.
Hunched shoulders, furrowed brows, shuffling feet are all body language signals.

Some adults see themselves as carrying the weight of the world.
No problem, issue, circumstance is too small to be added to the list of life’s troubles.
Like beasts of burden, they carry their load wherever they go:
Dromedaries in the desert traveling from Al-Khobar to Riyadh, have a purpose,
a destination, an ending which relieves them of pain and discomfiture.
Malignant worriers carry their burdens without an off loading destination on the horizon.

Feel like the Scrooge of your generation? Overburdened, underappreciated?
Alone and adrift in a sea of confusion: Fearful of what tragedy may be next?
Sayeth the Raven “ Nevermore”.

Snow covers the frozen surface of Lake Geneva with a perfect palette of white frosty snow
Quiet, slumbering, reflecting God’s patience.
The crunch of isolated snow boots on the tundra faintly breaks the silence.
Want a conversation with our Maker, this is as close as it gets.
Silence makes us intent listeners. Listening for what?
Undefined, mystical, supernatural, the unexplained symphony of silence
Envelopes and surrounds us as we walk further into nature’s living room.

A solitary velvet black crow perches on the limb atop a leafless oak .
Facing the shrouded sun, the bird and tree have a life long relationship.
The crow calls, then listens, calls then listens.
Lift off ! He accelerates over the lake: a speck of black on a frozen white canvas.
This ancient bird had delivered a message – was it received?
Or did it’s dolcent sounds fall to the frozen earth, unheard, not translated?

Nature has opened the door into its living room of silence.
Filled with nothing and yet everything.
Perhaps Native Americans have it right – there is a message about each rock, river, tree.
Did we listen in silence for the soul of God while its just Him and us at the lake?

How adept are we at unburdening ourselves and letting Him take our troubles?
Resolving them in His time, in His way? Do we trust ?
Or do we egotistically depend on our own smarts to solve our perceived worries?
Like the crow, we are not alone.. unless we choose to be.

God listenting to us in our Silence

A SIMPLE THANK YOU – THE PERFECT BEGINNING TO THE PACKERS AND SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

She is 60ish, face wrinked, hands gnarled from years of manual work
Her face creased talks of years stationed behind a punch press machine.
Slowly shifting weight from one foot to the other – her lower leg pain is obvious.
Wintry blasts of -25 degrees punish her arthritic knees.
Each and every time the auto doors open.
No time to grumble, or put on gloves or a jacket
This, after all, is the customer friendly grocery store.

Lifting cans of soup, bags of oranges, containers of ice cream.
Plastic or paper she intones?
Up scale suburbanites diz her – politely of course, without making eye contact.
“ Double Plastic “ grumbles the BMW driving matron ( the words please are out of fashion).
Heaving the bags into the grocery cart, Barbara returns to the moving belt.
Plastic or paper – and so the nighttime hours grudgingly creep buy.

A former nurse caught in the recession: supporter of two grandchildren.
A widower of many years with the voice of an angel and a heart of gold.
She is the modern day version of the farmer behind the ox and plow.
Chained to her station, faking compliance and obligation to duty.

Barbara wears a name patch? Why? The suburbanites treat her like Orwells non-person.
She exists only to serve, in the shadows , behind closed doors,
A fellow child of God? Wonder what happened to that concept.

The overweight, pampered, peach fuzzed college student watched Barbara struggle.
He had selected oversized bottles of Coke, bags of nachos, blocks of cheese.
This was Super Bowl Sunday and he was getting ready to host his buddies.
The line at each of the checkout counters was long and continuous
Only ½ hour until kickoff.. like other Wisconsinites he was nervous about his
Gods of the gridiron.. Rodgers, Driver, Kuhn, His stomach was literally churning..

Barbara had been struggling for 5 hours, but she wouldn’t quit.
The Store Manager chomped loudly on his gum>
A 30 something on the way up the career ladder.
He is determined to keep customers smiling…no matter the price to be paid by
Aged, underpaid, underappreciated staff.

The young man proudly attired in his new Green Bay Packer Jacket ( with the Super G)
sweatshirt, and wool cap
Observed silently as Barbara loaded three monster paper bags into his shopping cart.
30 pounds each –what the hell, that’s not much .

She turned, with a silent groan: back aching, knowing she had made it through
One more challenge, one small victory for her grim determination to survive.
To feed the grandkids, to get them an education.

Both arms extended, he lovingly grasped Barbara’s shaking, weakend hands.
Gently looking into her dark, tired eyes, he quietly said “ Thank you Barbara”..
Disappearing through the auto doors into the darkness of the parking lot.

Barbara stiffened: looked out the door: then crumpled In tears. The store manager
Helped her to a bench near the customer service desk.
What’s wrong? What happened? Are you ok? He guiltily pleaded. His best
employee in a heap.. on Super Bowl Sunday – he was in deep deep trouble.

So rare was a thank you. So seldom had anyone taken the time to recognize her as a person
So absent for years had there been a sense that anyone appreciated her.
Her defenses, like the walls of Jericho, came tumbling down.
A simple THANK YOU was a dagger to her oft protected heart.

And how do you treat the grocery store baggers, the blank staring gas station cashiers at 11 PM,?
The single moms at the dry cleaners: the smiling on the outside, churning on the
Inside barmaids?
THANK YOU – two syllables of gentleness, caring AND respect.

Smiles on the outside

SUPERBOWL MADNESS ON THE GREAT PLAINS

All for one - One for all

SUPERBOWL MADNESS ON THE GREAT PLAINS
In the news :
* Terrorists strike Moscow:
*Gabby Gifford has a medical setback
*President O’Bama prepares State of the Union Speech
*Dow nears 12000
*Two more policemen shot in Miami
*Packer fullback has super bowl ring in his safe:

The news cycle in Wisconsin these days is amazing: The items listed above were presented
By the television news outlets —In reverse.
Of a 22 minute news cast – 16 minutes were about the PACKERS>
Does some stone head running through a store yelling “ Go Pack: rate as news? Especially when
The anchors feature this and a group of 6AM shoppers buying sweatshirts?

Will someone please tell me this is a mirage – a dream? Or explain this cultural phenomena?
Recent summer news has been breathlessly reported whether Brett Favre would retire or not:
Please give me a break –this was not an Armageddon issue.

At the newsstand on Sunday, a gentleman arrived wearing a Green Bay Packers Jacket
You a Packers fan asked the clerk? No, not really flatly stated the customer – this was the 1st
Jacket I grabbed on my way out the door:
Ten minutes later – no exaggeration here- the clerk finished his tirade about how anyone could possibly
not be a Packer Fan. All the guy wanted to do was buy a paper – not be accosted by a near religious
homily.
Those of us who are not drinking the COOK AID: but merely want to be informed as to the state of the
union or the state of the world are at a significant disadvantage.
Will someone explain this devotion to players who make millions of dollars a year to entertain us?
Enjoy yes: kneel at the Gods who must reside in Lambeau field? I don’t think so.
HELP – SOMEONE OUT THERE HELP – there must be a clinical explanation for this madness.

In the news :
* Terrorists strike Moscow:
*Gabby Gifford has a medical setback
*President O’Bama prepares State of the Union Speech
*Dow nears 12000
*Two more policemen shot in Miami
*Packer fullback has super bowl ring in his safe:

The news cycle in Wisconsin these days is amazing: The items listed above were presented
By the television news outlets —In reverse.
Of a 22 minute news cast – 16 minutes were about the PACKERS>
Does some stone head running through a store yelling “ Go Pack: rate as news? Especially when
The anchors feature this and a group of 6AM shoppers buying sweatshirts?

Will someone please tell me this is a mirage – a dream? Or explain this cultural phenomena?
Recent summer news has been breathlessly reported whether Brett Favre would retire or not:
Please give me a break –this was not an Armageddon issue.

At the newsstand on Sunday, a gentleman arrived wearing a Green Bay Packers Jacket
You a Packers fan asked the clerk? No, not really flatly stated the customer – this was the 1st
Jacket I grabbed on my way out the door:
Ten minutes later – no exaggeration here- the clerk finished his tirade about how anyone could possibly
not be a Packer Fan. All the guy wanted to do was buy a paper – not be accosted by a near religious
homily.
Those of us who are not drinking the COOK AID: but merely want to be informed as to the state of the
union or the state of the world are at a significant disadvantage.
Will someone explain this devotion to players who make millions of dollars a year to entertain us?
Enjoy yes: kneel at the Gods who must reside in Lambeau field? I don’t think so.
HELP – SOMEONE OUT THERE HELP – there must be a clinical explanation for this madness.

Be Motivated- Be Number 1: Cheer for the Home Team

Motivation — a continuing quandary in business circles:
How do we get employees to be energized?
Yes, sometimes not energized to do their best
Just plain old fashioned energized.

Watching the Packers-Bears Game yesterday,
I admit to having more questions than answers

With each score, the Packers fans became more frenzied
The Bears fans more defiant.
What is relevant also is that alcohol consumption increased as
Tensions rose and either triumph or despair prevailed

A relevant observation is the drive, commitment, external expression
Of these two antagonizing groups of fans.
Driven for 3 hours by their intense loyalty and
Contrary to many pundits, money was not the primary reward.
Individual recognition was not an issue
Pride in a professional team with whom an entire state relates
(hmm- how many of the team’s players are from Wisconsin?)
Pride, group identity, a “we are all in this together mentality”,

Group dynamics is an amazing phenomena:
We coalesce when there is a tragedy such as fire, or flood.
Identify with our city sports teams
Rebel against perceived injustice
Fight to the death when our liberties are threatened.
What are the psychological and sociological forces at work?

Likewise, what are the prevailing forces when a team of workers do not perform?
Is it money, or working conditions, the personality of the boss, the culture?
When school children in a specific school or classroom under achieve:
And we spend more money on computers, snazzy classrooms, pedagogical studies?

Whatever we do at any given time is a function of internal motivation
We may be motivated to do nothing, or everything: individually or as a group?
What is the magic elixir or switch which persuades our inner self
Do we engage in cheering a sports team for individual pleasure when
Rooting as a group? Why do some cheer alone, in the dark and quiet of their personal space?
Lots of questions –not many answers:
A tribute to our capitalistic system for giving us choices at the workplace, shopping centers, and sporting events.
To paraphrase Jack Welch of General Electric, If you can’t be number one – motivate yourself and try something else.

Cheering for ?