…is to leave the world a better place than you found it.
Do not fall into striving for social media success.
Do not measure success by the size of the house or the price of the car in the garage.
What do those matter?
Leaving a wake behind the boat of your life’s journey of peace, joy, calm, service.
That is success.
An exchange from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien on moving forward despite the difficulties we face:
Frodo: “I wish none of this had happened.”
Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”
People around the world recently survived democratic elections. The losers face worries about the future. The winners reside in hope that what they voted for actually works. Since politicians (as well as church leaders) promise much only to discover how hard change is, most will be disappointed.
What we as individual people can do is to take Gandalf’s advice, decide what to do with the time that is given us.
We can choose to follow Jesus’s examples and teachings, or we can live in an uncertain future in our minds.
Joni Mitchell sang, “I’ve looked at life from both sides now…”
The song shares the experiences of being on both sides of an emotion. I love that song.
Sometimes seeing both sides doesn’t seem to work.
Your side of a theology or political debate is criticized for some outlandish claim. Others see it as hateful, perhaps.
You respond, “But the other side does it, too.”
I’m trying to find a place where Jesus, upon being criticized for something, says “but the Pharisees do it, too.”
Following Jesus means, “but Jesus does it, too.”
Sometimes it’s not both sides now, but Jesus way. The hard part for us lays in learning and doing Jesus’ way.
And that is often hard.
We drove through some back roads in the central south of Kentucky. A Baptist church of one flavor or another seemed to appear at every crossroad. We crossed over into Tennessee. Now Churches of Christ of various flavors appeared.
My tradition is Methodist. I am quite Wesleyan in outlook.
I thought about how the Baptists in town were skeptical that Methodists were really Christian. Joe, the pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), used to say he led the only Christian church in town. (It was a joke. I think.) Let us not even mention the Protestants and the Catholics.
But I pondered all those varieties of churches we passed.
What if each brought the peace of God and a community to the people who attend? Do we all need to go to the same place to worship? Are there not varieties of style that speak to the individual souls?
I like the formality and mystery of Catholic Mass, yet a dose of the “rock concert and a TED Talk” style is motivating at times. My wife likes the typical Protestant liturgy with familiar songs.
Why criticize others? We should be all on the same track. Just tasting different varieties of the tea.
Relax. Follow your path faithfully. Why worry about others? Life is too short (he says writing this the day after yet another birthday).
Those of you who have followed my writing for some time know that I am an eclectic reader. I pick up ideas and wisdom from wherever I can.
Listening to an interview with Zen Master Henry Shukman on the flight to California this week. He mentioned that meditation is like dipping a tea bag into a cup of hot water. It infuses your life.
There is a rich history of Christian mediation. We also call it contemplation or prayer.
Sit for a moment or two. Let this idea of connecting with God infusing our life. How much better we would live if we let God infuse our life. Perhaps that is a part of what Jesus meant by the Kingdom of God surrounds us.
When I sit in meditation, the experience of God infusing my life is part of the whole.
(For a great book on the subject, try The Cloud of Unknowing by an anonymous 14th Century English Catholic religious.)
A protestant church denomination spends time and effort to convince other congregations to join it, since they are right and others are wrong. Should not a Christian organization be spending its time and energy toward mission and ministry? Doing the work of Jesus in the world?
America just held an election. Each side hyped up the evils lying in wait if the other side won. Anxiety rose throughout the land. Should not we have been more concerned about how we build a society based upon our founding principles?
What we have here is a failure to listen.
I mean, really listen, to other people.
If I can convince you to listen to one podcast this month no matter where in the world you live, listen to this Guy Kawasaki podcast interview with Tonia Israel on The Science of Political Unity.
Dr. Tania Israel is a distinguished professor at UCSB and author of Facing the Fracture. Kawasaki’s new book is Think Remarkable.
Dr. Israel isn’t just another voice in the crowded space of political commentary; she’s a pioneering researcher and practitioner in the art of bridging divides. Her work at UCSB has positioned her at the forefront of understanding how we can heal America’s growing political fractures, and her insights have never been more crucial than they are today.
In this episode, we dive deep into the heart of political polarization, exploring how our media consumption, social bubbles, and cognitive biases shape our views of ‘ the other side.’
Dr. Israel challenges conventional wisdom about empathy and reveals surprising truths about how even the most empathetic people can contribute to polarization. Her practical strategies for engaging across political divides offer hope for meaningful dialogue in an increasingly divided world.
Hint: Ask deep questions, perhaps sincerely ask how did you come to believe that.
Oh, I should add that this is not the first election in US history with this level of polarization. Somehow we seem to have survived even if once we had to go to war.
I love it when modern social science discovers ancient wisdom. Reading in Adam Grant’s excellent book, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, “Psychologists found that the more people value happiness, the less happy they often become with their lives.”
We can read in almost any ancient wisdom literature, such as the Proverbs in the Hebrew scriptures, this same wisdom.
Unfortunately, we seem to be living out the philosophy developed by Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century and later publicized by John Stuart Mill, “it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”
Bentham pushed for many good social advancements that once adopted has made life better for many. He got this wrong.
But look around. Perhaps you, yourself, are captured by this idea and certainly many people around you, who think that life is all about the pursuit of happiness.
Happiness will not be found that way.
Happiness is a byproduct of pursuing a life of service to others. Service that is performed through a spiritual alignment with God regardless of your particular brand of faith.
Researchers studied the interaction of managers and their employees. Among managers rated as the worst listeners by their employees, 94% of them evaluated themselves as good or very good listeners. (Source: Adam Grant, Think Again)
Are you a good listener?
Pause. Think again.
Now seriously, are you a good listener.
The person we find easiest to fool is ourself.
Focus on the other person, not what you are going to say next.
Think of questions to probe deeper, that places the focus on the other.
Perhaps repeat what they said asking if you understand.
Practice as often as possible.
Yesterday I wrote, “And I wondered, what holds us back? What negativity, cynicism, bitterness, or even pride and ego cover our innate vibrant self? What do we need to start shedding in order to show our true colors?”
Thinking this over, I realized what I missed.
Forgiveness.
Not for others. Many sermons are preached about forgiving others (surely that is important). Mostly we need to forgive ourselves.
Be kind to everyone—including yourself.
Forgive—including yourself.
Your life will be better for it.
We recently drove about 2,500 miles on various trips from Illinois to Tennessee to Ohio to Illinois to Missouri. It was the middle-to-end of October. The deciduous trees were in full color.
Golds and reds blended with some green holding on to summer painting a beautiful landscape in the hills.
People who study these things say that the colors are always there. The green from chlorophyl hides the colors while the tree’s growth stage needs the sunlight energy converted by the green.
When the green fades away giving way to a new stage of life, the vibrant colors become exposed.
And I wondered, what holds us back? What negativity, cynicism, bitterness, or even pride and ego cover our innate vibrant self?
What do we need to start shedding in order to show our true colors?
Gary Mintchell
Faith Venture 