Faith Venture

When my wife was teaching, I often encouraged her to teach the kids on how to read the advertising and marketing messages that inundated their little minds with awareness of the attempts to influence desires.

A publicist recently sent a book for me to review. The purported message of the text was how to become an entrepreneur and get to incomes upwards of $1 million per year. The text beneath the text was—join my program, help me (the author) reach that million-dollars-a-year club, and perhaps you will be like these 15 other people who work fewer than 3-hours-per-day and have incomes at that level.

How many people will be aware of the subtle text within the overt text?

Evidently many in the world think Americans are the most gullible people on God’s green Earth given the number of sources of totally contrived messages that have a scent of reality posted on social media for people to pass around to their “friends” in order to stir up emotions.

Writers on the world of the spirit have known for many thousands of years about the temptations of filling the mind with worry, suspicion, fear, cynicism. And they’ve known about the types of people who promote that thinking for their own gain.

And we know that a better life, the Apostle Paul called it life with the fruit of the spirit, is there for the taking by filling our minds with these higher things.

Especially in these days of Coronavirus quarantine where fear can spread so quickly nurtured on by writers and politicians whose livelihood and power grow out of those fears, we need to be acutely aware of what feeds and fills our minds. Think on these higher things is an ancient—and modern—valuable teaching.

“I live among rural Vermonters much of the time. They can do a million things. The average “hick” in my neck of the woods is a crafty, multiskilled networker/trader/entrepreneur. Many of my neighbors are degreeless and diplomaless, but they could outwit the average corporate manager without raising a sweat.” An observation by management consultant and seminar leader Tom Peters found in The Pursuit of WOW!: Every Person’s Guide to Topsy-Turvy Times.

I also in my life have lived among “hicks” (as Peters calls them in his 1994 book). In fact, I’m sure some of my bosses in my early management career thought the same about me—McKinsey consultants as they were.

I’ve also worked around “guys with ties” often. Most think they earned and deserved their rank and their income. Mostly they got there due to family contacts and/or inherited wealth. And some could have easily have been outwitted by the shrewd, car-tinkering, trader guy who never finished high school but was bright all the same.

This stream of thought merged with my reading today in The Didache. The section called “Dos and Don’ts”. Do be humble formed the central thinking.

Time and again I’ve witnessed the failings of those whose pride got the best of them. Often enough to serve as a warning chime in my psyche if I seem to be going off on a wrong path. Don’t prejudge. Put others first.

This is no doubt a key to surviving during this quarantine period where you’re locked in with a limited number of people who are all-to-aware of your limitations. May you be healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

I ran across some videos of one of those motivational guys. You know the type. Could be either gender. They get on stage or in front of a camera. They are filled to overflowing with energy. They try to motivate the audience to open up and drink in some of that energy.

And almost every time, two weeks later nothing has changed in the individual lives of the attendees.

You cannot be blindly optimistic and survive. Nor do those who fill their mind with every thought of what can go wrong, the perpetually negative people.

You fill your mind with solid foundations of spiritual wisdom grounded in observation of reality. Jesus said to think on these things. Paul said to think on these things. Every spiritual person I’ve ever read tell how they filled their minds with the things of God.

But the more I studied and read, the deeper I came to this realization. I learned it at 21 and learn it again every day.

Life is not about stopping at that point. You can’t stop at knowing what that motivational guru speaker said.

If you fill your mind with everything wrong in the world, you’ll not do anything.

The point of filling your mind with the spirit every day is to be able to go out and meet life’s challenges and do the right actions. Meditation and experiencing God just lays the foundation. It is meaningless without taking that new awareness into the world to teach, serve, mentor, guide.

A woman tweeted a rant that was retweeted a few times which made it to me. She was rebelling against all those perpetually perky, optimistic people—you know, the life gives you lemons, make lemonade types. She said (I am paraphrasing, I lost the tweet) don’t tell her to make the best of this situation of staying home to learn a language, start a business, teach the kids college math, write a book, and bake glorious desserts.

Yesterday I was on a conference call with about 35 other people. We went around and mentioned our status. They ranged from very rural to city and from America and Europe. And our current experiences varied, even though given the nature of the work we all do, we’re all busy working.

I’ve noticed. Some people adapt and carry on. Some people are fearful. Some are cautious. A few rebel against the constraints and actually want to go out like “normal” (and catch the virus and die, but I digress).

It’s a little like school where you have the perky kids who sit in the front of the class and always raise their hands to answer and ask the obvious questions to please the teacher. And the majority of kids just trying to learn and get by. Then there are the kids who cut as many classes as possible to sneak a cigarette break.

Listen to where people are. For some, they need reproving. Some need understanding (just listen). Some need encouragement. Some don’t need encouragement—they need to be reminded that not everyone is as perky as they.

Listen and strive to understand. God will meet each person through the channel of a listening and empathetic friend. Be one of those.

Jesus told stories about being a good steward of what you have been given by God.

Different people have different takes on what that means.

Some people look at a piece of land and marvel in the beauty of nature, the trees, wildlife, streams.

Some people look at a piece of land and envision it flowering with cash crops to provide a living and feed the population.

For others, the cash crop is a hotel, or casino, or homes, or businesses.

I’m not taking sides among those. I don’t want early morning arguments. I love experiencing nature. I like to eat. I appreciate having a house in which to live even though just a few years ago this was a corn field—now a development larger than my home town.

But we can all live better without polluting our drinking water. And unleashing all those plastic bags that fly with the wind and drift with ocean currents everywhere eventually killing animals which will eventually kill us. (Yes, I’m aware that due to the fear of spreading viruses we are back to single use bags rather than bringing our reusable bags to the store. The nice young lady at Trader Joe’s reminded us of that the other day.)

Today is the 50th Earth Day. Pause for a moment today and contemplate at least one action that can become a habit that cleans and protects our. Earth.

I tried this Thomas Mann quote once and an engineer took him literally, but here goes again. Allow your mind and vision to expand as you contemplate, “If everyone swept in front of their house, the whole world would be clean.”

“Let your gift sweat in your hands until you know to whom to give it.”

I opened The Didache (did-uh-kay) this morning for my reading. Reading from the first commandment which begins with Jesus’ commandments to love God and love our neighbor, the anonymous writer used about half of the paragraph to describe gifts. We receive gifts from God (and presumably others). If we are in need, use the gifts with gratitude. If you are not in need and fail to pass the gift on, you are guilty and must answer for your sin. “Let your gift sweat in your hands until you know to whom to give it.”

Remarkably, my book of the week is The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World by Lewis Hyde. I am only about half finished. Thus far he is exploring various types of gift giving in a variety of cultures throughout human history.

This is a tradition among many peoples and times. Yet, how rare in modern times.

Yet, it is an important teaching from the earliest of Christian teachers. The Didache was written most likely about the same time as the Gospels and used for teaching by most early teachers. Its author is anonymous, therefore (and could be male or female, by the way), so since it could not be traced back to a first generation apostle, it was not accepted into the Canon (New Testament). Still, it and The Shepherd of Hermas are important books for teaching discipleship.

In the context of the first commandment where this is found, the obvious intent is to pass along gifts we receive if we do not need them to someone who is in need. Hoarding has never been a Christian virtue. Sharing has.

The best leaders can exert intellectual control over their emotions. It is not that they don’t have emotions—that would be cold and mechanical. It is not that they don’t inspire emotions—people will follow leaders who inspire their best emotions.

However, when followers always feel as if they are in some quicksand of ever changing and intense emotional outbursts, stability and willingness to follow are sacrificed. People are always wasting time reading the emotional temper of the day and trying to adjust their actions and words to fit.

Don’t consider this mere theory. Once the president of my company perhaps indulged in more than adequate amount of martinis before speaking to a conference of the company’s top management team and proceeded to rip the department led by his rival for the top spot. Another leader exhibited bi-polar symptoms disappearing for a few days and then writing inane emails 24-hours-a-day for a couple of days. Neither was a success or inspired confidence.

Here are some thoughts for us as we try to develop a higher emotional intelligence and improve our chances for leadership success. I didn’t note the source of these but I suspect Daniel Goleman.

1. You have a robust emotional vocabulary.

All people experience emotions, but it is a select few who can accurately identify them as they occur. People with high EQs master their emotions because they understand them, and they use an extensive vocabulary of feelings to do so. The more specific your word choice, the better insight you have into exactly how you are feeling, what caused it and what you should do about it.

2. You’re curious about people.

It doesn’t matter if they’re introverted or extroverted, emotionally intelligent people are curious about everyone around them. This curiosity is the product of empathy, one of the most significant gateways to a high EQ. The more you care about other people and what they’re going through, the more curiosity you’re going to have about them.

3. You embrace change.

Emotionally intelligent people are flexible and are constantly adapting. They know that fear of change is paralyzing and a major threat to their success and happiness. They look for change that is lurking just around the corner, and they form a plan of action should these changes occur.

4. You know your strengths and weaknesses.

Emotionally intelligent people don’t just understand emotions; they know what they’re good at and what they’re terrible at. They also know who pushes their buttons and the environments (both situations and people) that enable them to succeed.

5. You’re a good judge of character.

Much of emotional intelligence comes down to social awareness; the ability to read other people, know what they’re about, and understand what they’re going through. Over time, this skill makes you an exceptional judge of character.

6. You are difficult to offend.

If you have a firm grasp of whom you are, it’s difficult for someone to say or do something that gets your goat. Emotionally intelligent people are self-confident and open-minded, which creates a pretty thick skin.

7. You let go of mistakes.

Emotionally intelligent people distance themselves from their mistakes, but do so without forgetting them. By keeping their mistakes at a safe distance, yet still handy enough to refer to, they are able to adapt and adjust for future success.

8. You give and expect nothing in return.

When someone gives you something spontaneously, without expecting anything in return, this leaves a powerful impression.

9. You don’t hold grudges.

The negative emotions that come with holding onto a grudge are actually a stress response. Just thinking about the event sends your body into fight-or-flight mode, a survival mechanism that forces you to stand up and fight or run for the hills when faced with a threat.

10. You neutralize toxic people.

Dealing with difficult people is frustrating and exhausting for most. When they need to confront a toxic person, they approach the situation rationally. They identify their own emotions and don’t allow anger or frustration to fuel the chaos. They also consider the difficult person’s standpoint and are able to find solutions and common ground.S

11. You appreciate what you have.

Taking time to contemplate what you’re grateful for isn’t merely the right thing to do; it also improves your mood because it reduces the stress hormone cortisol by 23 percent. Research conducted at the University of California, Davis, found that people who worked daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experienced improved mood, energy and physical well-being. It’s likely that lower levels of cortisol played a major role in this.

12. You disconnect.

Taking regular time off the grid is a sign of a high EQ because it helps you to keep your stress under control and to live in the moment.

13. You get enough sleep.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of sleep to increasing your emotional intelligence and managing your stress levels. When you sleep, your brain literally recharges, shuffling through the day’s memories and storing or discarding them (which causes dreams) so that you wake up alert and clearheaded.

“Be patient and understanding,” he said, “and you will overcome all evil deeds and will accomplish all righteousness.” —The Shepherd of Hermas, a first-century document used by Christian teachers of the time.

He continues, “For the Lord lives in patience, but the devil lives in an angry temper.”

“But an angry temper is first of all foolish, fickle, and senseless. Then from foolishness comes bitterness, and from bitterness wrath, and from wrath anger, and from anger vengefulness. Then vengefulness, being composed of all these evil elements, becomes a great and incurable sin.”

Why do I spend no more than about 15-20 minutes a day on Facebook and Twitter? Did you ever go back in a quiet moment and read the things you post and pass along?

It amazes me that we can look at teaching that is close to 2,000 years old seeing that it perfectly captures the status of the human heart today.

When I entered a life of contemplation more than 50 years ago, I thought all the teaching would be about “enlightenment”. Instead, it’s all about conquering all the evil in the heart and trying to live the right way.

It’s like the ancient Zen Buddhist master said, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.”

We have to go on living minute-by-minute. How shall we choose to do that?

Staying the course to achieve physical and spiritual health is one of the hardest disciplines.

Mary Poppins may have suggested just a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down. We seem to need spoonfuls.

Starting and ending a “diet” to lose weight is so prevalent as to be mythic. The discipline to daily follow a healthful routine that reduces weight as a by-product of healthy living is difficult.

You become infected and the doctor prescribes an antibiotic. Be sure, they warn you, to take the entire dose. Every last pill. But you feel so good after the first two doses that you stop taking the medicine. And you are not cured.

“I need to start praying,” you tell yourself. And you begin…today.

And tomorrow? Well, you never established a special chair for breathing, meditating, praying every day. Soon, it’s all forgotten.

Doing the necessary work of perseverance is not easy. However, it is essential for physical and spiritual well-being.

Either way, begin with a breath. Now…slowly inhale until you cannot hold any more air. Pause. Now…slowly exhale through the mouth for twice the time it took to inhale. Feel better already?

Contagion—the communication of a disease by passing viruses or germs from one to another.

Sometimes the “bugs” spread easily. Sometimes not so much. One can “catch” a cold every winter—maybe more than once. The symptoms are annoying, but seldom life threatening.

It is possible to get the flu every winter, also. But we have vaccinations to reduce the number of infections. Flu is quite life threatening if the victim also has other problems—obesity, sedentary lifestyle, existing illnesses.

Our current illness spreads even easier and faster. It’s effects are stronger. It lasts a little longer.

Ideas spread and movements grow through the same process.

A group of people around Jerusalem 2,000 years ago experienced a resurrected Jesus. They were infected. The “sneezed”, so to speak, and the movement rapidly spread. In just 40 years without any modern communication or transportation, the word had travelled throughout the Roman Empire.

So, I wondered what we are spreading.

• Peace
• Love
• Joy
• Wisdom
• Patience
• Service

Or

• Fear
• Worry
• Untruths
• Ignorance
• Frustration
• Concern only for ourselves

Choose wisely.