Gary Mintchell

Author Archive

Contradictory Actions

October 24, 2022

Nassim Nicholas Taleb writes in The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms, “Upon arriving at the hotel in Dubai, the businessman had a porter carry his luggage; I later saw him lifting free weights in the gym.”

I drove to the Y to work out after exercising in a park. I always parked in a spot at the far corner of the lot. Many people jockeyed to get a parking spot close to the door before going in to use a treadmill or elliptical trainer to walk.

I now walk to the community center of our little community to use the fitness equipment, hardwood floor for Yoga, and the hot tub. Everyone else drives.

It is not that I am better than others. It’s just a mind set.

Do we carry over that mind set to other areas of our lives?

Do we skip the hard part of scholarship before reading a few passages from the Bible and then formulating a theology?

Do we skip the hard part of sitting in prayer and meditation daily while thinking we are becoming spiritually mature with a few “good thoughts”?

Posted in Disciplines | Leave a Comment »

How To Get Out of a Rut

October 21, 2022

Jim was my boss. He was an engineer and an engineering manager. He ate bland food, was never excitable. He got more done than anyone I ever met. He tackled one thing at a time giving it his full attention.

It took years for me to incorporate that idea into my own workflow. I just finished a 3-month project. It entailed figuring out how to get all the assets distributed communicating with many people constantly. The only way I kept my sanity was tackling the next right thing. One at a time I finished.

Oliver Burkeman, writing in his newsletter The Imperfectionist, “In the end, it isn’t really a question of ‘breaking big projects down into small chunks.’ It’s more a matter of seeing that ‘big projects’ are nothing but psychological constructs, quasi-illusory entities summoned into existence by taking a particular view of what our lives really consist of – which is moments, and the actions that unfold in them.”

I got through the project and through the pandemic the same way—one day at a time. It’s not trying to comprehend a major long-range project. Just live in the moment.

Posted in Doing, Work | Leave a Comment »

In The Image of God

October 20, 2022

The first story in the Hebrew Scriptures (Christian “Old Testament”) has become a source of contention among those who read spiritual writing in various ways. Some think it’s science (something unheard of 3,000 years ago when this was written). Others have other concepts.

Perhaps we miss the important point. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, former “Chief Rabbi” in England provided this analysis.

“What makes the first chapter of Genesis so revolutionary is its statement that every human being, regardless of class, color, culture, or creed, is in the image and likeness of God himself. We know that in the ancient world it was rulers, kings, emperors, and pharaohs who were held to be in the image of God. So what Genesis was saying was that we are all royalty. We each have equal dignity in the kingdom of faith under the sovereignty of God.”

We should pause. And then pause further. And then let it steep into our very DNA. And then upon meeting another one of God’s children or reading about another one of God’s children, let this knowledge that we have equal dignity in the kingdom of God guide our reactions. If we all could do that, wouldn’t this be a better place to live?

Posted in Wisdom | Leave a Comment »

We Forgot To Choose

October 19, 2022

Viktor Frankl writing in Man’s Search for Meaning solidified the idea of our power to choose in my mind. The idea became one of my core beliefs. Ancient people knew that truth, the truth of choosing your attitude, your response, your life.

Seth Godin writes, “We are leaving the age of information and entering the age of choice. Not just choosing what we’ll consume, but who we will become. Who will we connect with, lead, trust, honor, dignify, isolate or believe? And how will we choose to walk through the world and what will we leave behind…”

Long-time technology pundit Steve Gillmor early on predicted companies on the Internet were all about capturing our attention. Now we read about the many psychological tricks companies such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and others use to capture and retain our attention.

To whom do you choose to give your attention? And all the other choices Seth suggests?

Posted in Attention, choosing, Deciding | Leave a Comment »

Church Walls

October 18, 2022

I drive the car into a parking space. I look at the building, the destination of the trip. Perhaps I will spend the day there at work. Perhaps I will make a sales call. Or try to solve an engineering problem. Or try to help someone in need.

Walls and a roof enclose the space. Outside where I am temporarily, nature and atmosphere and freedom. Moving inside everything changes. In there hierarchy, drama, politics engulf the spiritual atmosphere.

Madeleine L’Engle must have realized this. “Sometimes the very walls of our churches separate us from God and each other. In our various naves and sanctuaries we are safely separated from those outside, from other denominations, other religions, separated from the poor, the ugly, the dying.…”

I have felt that many times. When I enter one building and others from the community are entering another. And others enter buildings not churches. And others stay outside. And we are all separated by those walls. Wars have been fought with people killing neighbors because of which building they entered.

And I weep.

She writes further, “The house of God is not a safe place. It is a cross where time and eternity meet, and where we are – or should be – challenged to live more vulnerably, more interdependently.”

Some people lift a sentence from a letter of the Apostle Paul and rejoice in being separate. I’m not so sure Paul would rejoice. Reading his entire opus, the theme seems to be the desire to bring everyone together as followers of Jesus. And Jesus didn’t love the walls.

Posted in Awareness, Compassion | Leave a Comment »

Closest To God

October 17, 2022

Humans often ask impossible questions of God. The questions often are a variation on the theme of just where is God, anyway.

Where was God when the tragedy occurred? Where was God when I needed support and care and strength?

I used to ask how will God get me out of this mess I’ve gotten myself into.

If we keep our awareness antennae focused, we discover later that God was there all along. God doesn’t prevent tragedy from occurring. Well, sometimes I think maybe he does. But many writers have told stories about discovering God at work in the midst of doubt, despair, fear, worry.

God was closest to us in those moments. We often don’t realize the support we get until later reflection reveals God and our friends were there all along.

Maybe we spend hours in meditation, contemplation, and prayer hoping to be close to God. Maybe we don’t realize the presence surrounds us ready to pounce when most needed.

Posted in Faith | Leave a Comment »

Treating With Sensitivity and Humanity

October 14, 2022

I just finished “binge reading” Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse series of novels. Set in Oxford, England, Detective Chief Inspector Morse solves murders in his unique style assisted by loyal partner Detective Sergeant Lewis and boss Chief Superintendent Strange. The thirteen novels culminate in a moving finale.

Dexter drew the final resolution of both the murder case and the series with a series of scenes that handled the complex relationships with such sensitivity and humanity that I had to pause and reflect for quite a while.

What would happen, I wondered, if we stepped back and took a longer view at relationships both near and far and brought sensitivity and humanity to the reflection?

We sometimes (often?) judge motivations and actions quickly. Perhaps there is more to the story? Perhaps they weren’t out to get you? Perhaps they were protecting someone else? Yes, some people are devious. But most? Most just act the best they can at the time. We should consider them with sensitivity and humanity, and yes, even love.

And if you are a fan of murder mysteries, you cannot go far wrong by reading Dexter. His writing captures the scene and mood, and keeps you guessing along with Morse.

Posted in Attitude | Leave a Comment »

Gratitude For What We Have

October 13, 2022

Some of us live in the future of want. It is a land of dissatisfaction. What we have is not good enough. We need more…stuff; better…things.

If we have no gratitude for what we have been given, how shall we know to have gratitude for that which we will receive in the future?

“My son says I’m in good shape for a man 73 years old,” said Bob in the fitness center to me yesterday. I replied, “Yes, my health may not be perfect, but I’m grateful for what I have.”

I try to live in the land of today. Grateful for what I have. If something good comes to me tomorrow, I’ll be grateful for that.

Posted in Gratitude | 1 Comment »

It Begins In The Heart

October 12, 2022

Whatever else happened, Jesus was most interested in the contents of the heart. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What you value is related to the status of your heart.

Jesus valued people. You can tell from each of his interactions with people–even his enemies.

Some seek peace. Yet they exhibit anger and bitterness.

Some seek justice. Yet they exhibit bias and anger toward one group while saying they want justice for another. Justice is justice, no matter which clothes it is wearing.

What values color your heart? What do you say? James taught us that how we speak reflects the status of our heart. He also taught that what we do reveals the status of our heart.

Maybe we need a daily check-up?

Posted in Attitude, Compassion | Leave a Comment »

Who Made You God?

October 11, 2022

Said the big adult man soccer player to the somewhat smaller referee pointing to the parking lot. As I was dismissing a player from game, he waved a fist in front of my face (I knew him well, I was only slightly intimidated), “Who made you God?”

Erich Fromm published a book in 1966, “You Shall Be As Gods” taking a phrase from the Hebrew scriptures.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb writing a book of aphorisms called The Bed of Procrustes, says, “Religion isn’t so much about telling man that there is one God as about preventing man from thinking he is God.”

How many people have you met who seem to think they are God? Or, at least they have a special message spoken only to them from God?

When I begin to think that I am that special, eventually I will realize I am on that I-am-like-God path. And it is time to practice humility. To answer Denny in the first paragraph, “No one made me God. I am not God.”

Posted in Humility | Leave a Comment »

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