Epictetus would say that just as a person delights in improving his farm, and another his horse, he delighted in attending to his own improvement day by day. (Quote thanks to Ryan Holliday at the Daily Stoic.)
When we arise following a good night’s sleep, where does our focus go?
Perhaps a cup of coffee and a walk or run outside becomes a perfect start. Our self improvement begins with that.
What will we do with the rest of our day? Will it degrade us? Or improve us? Will we be delighted?
Some Wednesday thoughts during an April (snow) shower.
Eating:
Emphasize vegetables over meat
Vinegary foods over salt
Whole fruit over juice and sugar
Chew more and swallow less
Eat food that looks like food and fewer ultra processed snacks
Health:
More sleep, Worry less
Laugh often, reduce anger
Act more, talk less
Give generously, reduce wants
Take long walks in nature
Walk more, ride less
Resistance train, less time for social media
Read more good books, less time for social media
More good conversations over coffee
Generosity is not a specific thing that you do. Reaching into your pocket once to give a dollar for a street publication from a homeless person in downtown Chicago may feel good. Sending a payment to some cause you saw advertised may be a good thing. It may be a start. The beginning of a journey.
Generosity is an orientation toward life. You can live a life looking out in order to serve others. You can be intelligent with the way you manage your money. But you are not afraid to help out whenever you can.
The other life orientation is fear. You hoard all your resources from fear of being without. You don’t help because you feel that others are trying to get what you’ve got.
The amount of wealth you have does not matter. Some wealthy people are generous. Some poor people are fearful. And the other way around. I have seen some “poor” people who are immensely generous people.
You can choose your orientation toward life. Generous or Fearful. Choose well.
A little boy found a cocoon one morning. He took it to the local old, wise man down the street.
The man told the little boy, “A caterpillar wove this cocoon as a house for the winter while it changes into a butterfly. Watch this cocoon. Soon it will develop cracks. You will see a butterfly inside beating its wings against the walls of the cocoon. Do not help the butterfly. In time it will break open the cocoon and fly away.”
The little boy watched the cocoon, and sure enough cracks developed and he could see the butterfly beating its wings against the walls. Feeling sorry for the butterfly and wanting to help, the little boy broke open the cocoon. But the butterfly just laid still, limp, and then died.
He took this to the old man. “Little boy,” said the man, “you tried to help the butterfly, didn’t you? Don’t you know that the butterfly must beat its wings against the walls until it develops the strength to open the cocoon and fly. You deprived it the opportunity to grow strong.”
Just so in humans. Adolescents have the job of questioning and rebelling against the norms they see. Wise parents and adults allow this questioning and rebelling so that the child will grow stronger. They just establish guardrails far enough out to prevent danger while still allowing room for growth.
And as we age, our experiences still cause us to question and, yes, even rebel against God. For only by pushing against God can we allow God to push back and help us grow stronger. We find the limits of our strength and the beginnings of renewed strength thanks to God.
It is probably a character flaw.
I wrote that sentence this morning. I could not concentrate. Then we left for lunch. I have no idea where I was going, since I have so many of those “flaw” things.
I know I was contemplating the death of Jesus.
And how some people apply layers of theological thinking to the event.
And how some people enjoy (?) wallowing in the gory details of how a person dies during a crucifixion.
And how some people avoid those negative scenes.
Then, only the shift in time from Friday to Sunday.
They knew he had died and been buried. But he was missing. Then he appeared and talked with a couple. Then more. Then lots more. Later (we don’t really know how long) he cooked breakfast on the shore of the lake.
Once again, there are those who overlay many layers of theology on the meaning of the events.
But there were too many witnesses to be ignored. And the story spread faster than any lie (well, today thanks to social media, lies spread instantaneously, but they didn’t have X back then). Within a decade thousands of people found their spiritual searching fulfilled in the person of the Jesus who came back to life.
You can involve yourself in a multiplicity of theological disputes. Or, you can simply say, “I’d like to live with that guy who died and came back to life.” It’s called following Jesus and living with-God every day.
A trade magazine trying to drum up subscribers at low cost ran an ad on Facebook. The magazine covers the automation market and featured some sort of robotic agriculture application. I noticed it because I was a co-founder of that magazine although I’ve been gone for 11 years.
A few people commented. I was shocked. Comment on an ad?
The comments immediately took off on “illegal” farm workers losing their jobs and sopping up free unemployment compensation.
We as humans really like to metaphorically take the ball and run with it, don’t we? We assume so many things about other people.
I’ve done that. Still do, in fact. See someone. Make an assumption about them. Then I meet them. Talk with them. Listen.
I’ve met the most interesting people that way. Sometimes opened my eyes to a whole new world.
Want to bet the first Jesus-followers met some of the same attitudes? First, suspicion from those around them. Then, a conversation, perhaps. Then, it was “I want what they’ve got.”
My last name is reasonably easy for Americans and most Europeans to pronounce. But, because there is an extra letter (I don’t know why, can’t trace beyond great-grandfather and grandfather said he preferred to be called Gannon, go figure), sometimes moderators have stumbled during introductions. We call it MIN-tchell. Telemarketers from the south of the USA will say, “Hello, Mr. Mint-CHELL.” I have an immediate clue that I’m not buying. My wife gave her third-graders a small candy chocolate mint on the first day of school to remind them it was MINT-chell.
People with eastern European or African or Asian last names run into more than my minor problems with pronunciation of their last names in America. And switching venues, I’m sure the problem is similar is every culture.
If it is a first meeting, this can be expected. But if it is a colleague or employee or boss, a mispronunciation can go from embarrassing to career limiting.
Elisa S.M. Fattoracci and Larissa R. Garcia recently published an article in the MIT Sloan Management Review with tips on pronouncing an unfamiliar name. I’ve included a link, but I think you must be a subscriber.
For me, it’s first listening and then catching the rhythm of the language. Here are some of their tips.
Ask. Various interactions afford you the opportunity to learn a name’s pronunciation. For example, upon meeting someone, ask how to pronounce their name. Even when the spelling of a name is consistent, its pronunciation can nonetheless vary.
Avoid unwanted nicknames. When you struggle to pronounce a name, do not resort to nicknaming the person without their permission. As a leader or manager, reflect on the potential message you might convey to an employee and their colleagues when using an unwanted nickname.
Practice. As with most things that don’t come naturally to us, practice makes perfect. If you’re unfamiliar with the correct pronunciation of a name, it can be challenging to get it right. This is where practicing can go a long way. Write down the phonetic spelling of the name to help commit it to memory, or use mnemonic devices to help you remember the correct pronunciation. The key here is to keep trying and show respect by making the effort to get it right. Such efforts do not need to be advertised or used as a means of self-promotion.
Own your mistakes, and be open to feedback. When you misspeak, correct yourself and apologize. Again, modeling this behavior will foster a culture wherein employees feel comfortable voicing concerns and providing important feedback — such as how to properly say their name — and they feel welcome and valued. Research suggests that employees do not voice suggestions if they perceive that such efforts are futile.
Demonstrating care and dedication by actively practicing and remembering names is essential for helping employees thrive and feel included.
Set an example. When you learn how to pronounce a name properly, be sure to introduce the person using the right pronunciation for others to emulate. Similarly, correct any name mispronunciations, whether or not the person is present, to take the onus off of them. These actions will go a long way in establishing a high-quality relationship with your colleague and building an inclusive culture. If you are involved in planning a corporate event, business meeting, or any other type of gathering, consider providing name tags that include space for the phonetic spelling. Creating the opportunity to learn correct pronunciations and correcting others’ errors will take the burden off your employees.
The story of the three men walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus captivates me to this day.
Evidently things had settled down a bit after Jesus’ execution. Although the stories of his subsequent appearances had spread through the community of followers leaving more questions than answers.
We don’t know why these two, only one named in the story and we don’t know really who he was, decided to walk from Jerusalem. They did not seem to be fleeing in haste. They were simply walking and talking.
A brief aside—this activity should become part of our routine. This walking and talking. We don’t walk enough. We don’t discuss deep subjects enough. I heard of a program where a guy organizes trips to places like Thailand for a week of walking and talking. But I bet the neighborhood park would do just as well.
So, they were discussing all they had heard and seen. A third man joins them, seemingly from nowhere. But, perhaps there were many other travelers along the road, so it wasn’t that surprising.
And this man seemed to know the Law and the Prophets more thoroughly than anyone they knew. And he explained from the beginning to the end how all the words of the Law and Prophets pointed to Jesus as the Messiah, not the warrior king as David but as the one Moses predicted who would be greater than he.
They stopped and ate. When the stranger broke bread and gave thanks, they recognized him as Jesus. And the man disappeared.
What was it about the act of breaking bread (it came in little loaves back then, not sliced in a plastic bag) that was so distinctive? I can picture a man taking a loaf of flat bread in both hands, breaking it, and giving thanks to God for the bread. But my imagination falters at that point.
I think about that story often. I wonder if I would recognize Jesus if he were to come alongside me during my daily walks. I wonder if I would allow him to show me things I thought I knew (depend on it, those two men had also memorized the Scriptures) in a new and better light. I wonder what Jesus actually told them, word by word.
He decided we would eat at one of those Brazilian steak houses where they bring new cuts of meat as long as your little token on the table is turned to green.
Turns out he is on a “keto” diet to lose weight. Only eats steak. One a day. Protein and fat. Has lost 30 lbs. Many are on a program where they count points penalizing for eating sugar-laden foods and fat. They lose weight. Many count calories. Obsess over counting. They all lose weight.
This all reminds me of the laws God gave Moses in order to organize the newly freed slaves into a new society. Ten commandments. (Quick, can you name them?) And maybe 612 more laws. Most were designed to keep the Hebrews alive in the desert. They worked at the time—mostly.
But the society institutionalized those laws. And added more. By the time of Jesus, a group called the Pharisees went around trying to get right with God by following every law plus others they made up. And they enjoyed pointing out the difference between themselves and others.
Jesus said that wouldn’t work. He said it’s about the heart. And following him. Not his laws. Him.
When I read Paul’s letter to his friends in Galatia, I glimpse what freedom from the law is. If our heart is right and we follow Jesus, then we don’t have to obsess over the laws. We just do what Jesus expects of us. It’s in our daily walk of life.
It is like weight. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep the pantry and refrigerator stocked with good, whole food. Don’t stock overly processed snacks and meats. Try this:
Or as Dr. Michael Pollen put it:
In spiritual life:
It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Mahatma Gandhi wrote in 1909, “Formerly the fewest men wrote books that were most valuable. Now anybody writes and prints anything he likes and poisons people’s minds.”
We are far better served today reading from the classics and a few, carefully selected (like me), contemporary writers than we are by scrolling through much news and other opinions found on the variety of social media.
Faith Venture 