“Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends.” – Clive Staples Lewis
The holiday season is the perfect time to practice the art of forgiveness. Bury the hatchets that have been stored in the cellar for so many months and/or years. Set your family or friends free from judgement and blame. In turn you’ll really be setting yourself free.
You’re life is nothing short of a miracle. You being right here, right now, is a remarkable feat of human perseverance. Don’t believe me? Then think about this:
In order for you to exist, there were countless others that had to endure hardship, famine, war, disease, and natural disaster. Many of us don’t think beyond three (Maybe four) generations, but the truth is that our existence follows a line of humanity that goes back to…well…the beginning. You are the legacy left by those who endured through the years.
Here are a few things that your ancestors had to endure in order for you to be here today (Just the last 2000 years):
0 – 476 AD: The Roman Empire
541 AD: Bubonic Plague
711 AD: The Moors
793 AD: The Vikings
1063 – 1295 AD: The Crusades
1162 -1227 AD: Genghis Khan
1480 – 1501 AD: Spanish Inqusition
1617 -1619: Small Pox (Multiple outbreaks within the Thirteen Colonies)
1845- 1852 AD:Great Famine (Irish Potato Famine)
1861 – 1865 AD: American Civil War
1905 AD: Bloody Sunday (Bolshevik Revolution)
1914 – 1919 AD: WWI (Mustard Gas)
1930 – 1936 AD: Dust Bowl Famine & Great Depression
1939 – 1945 AD: WWII (Holocaust & Atomic Bomb)
1948 – 1994 AD: Apartheid (South Africa)
1955 – 1968 AD: American Civil Rights Movement
1955 – 1975 AD: Vietnam War
1994 – 2000 AD: Rwandan Genocide
…. AND you’re still here.
It’s important that each of us find our “Walden Pond.” Thoreau found his and wrote about. We read it and talked about it, but not many took it further than that.
There is a place out there we need to discover, or perhaps, rediscover. It’s a place that offers solitude and wisdom. A place where one finds rejuvenation in simple, intentional, and purposeful living. Where man’s modern day worry – technology/communication overload, achievement, money, power – is cast aside in order to remember that which was once forgotten – joy, rest, love, peace.
Man needs to leave his cubicle, concrete, and car in order to reorganize and find himself. Nature has a way of speaking sense to us and reminding us of what’s important. Once immersed, it has a way of peeling back the facades and masks of conventional living, in order to reveal what is truly important. It reminds us that it’s not what we achieve in life that matters, but how we live.
I have my own “Walden Pond” that’s far away from the stress of modern living (I hope to find several more) . I go back there a hand-full of times a year in order to rest and rejuvenate. It’s a necessity for me and I challenge you to find a place where you can do the same.
The recent events in Japan have left me spinning. It’s been dizzying to see one disaster ride in on the coat tails of another. First the 9.0 earthquake, then the tsunami, and finally the potential nuclear meltdown of several reactors. Is it going to stop, or is the domino effect just getting started? My hope and prayer is that the worst is behind us, and there will be no nuclear catastrophe.
Nuclear catastrophe. Interesting to think that less than a century ago the United States was dropping nuclear catastrophes (bombs) on Japan as a sworn enemy, but now we’re praying that they don’t have to experience any more tragedy whether natural or man-made. I find that kind of beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, the destruction and chaos is nothing but tragic. However, the fact that the hearts, minds, and pocket books of Americans and the world have turned toward Japan is nothing short of manifest reconciliation… and that is quite lovely. Why? Because reconciliation is one of the oldest forms of beauty, love, purpose, and identity.
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Cor 5:18-19)
You the Man
Few make history. Fewer make it into our history books. And fewer still get an entire day dedicated to his/her life. Apparently, it takes a lot for an individual to make “Holiday Status.”
In America we have 10 federal holidays, and of those 10, four are dedicated to an individual - Washington’s Birthday, Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Jr Day, and Christmas. That’s a very short list. Especially considering all of the influential people that have come and gone over the centuries. Not just anyone gets his/her own holiday. In the U.S. you either have to be the Son of God, the explorer who found the Americas, the first president, or the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. It’s a diverse list of men, but the common theme seems to be that they did something necessary and great for America: Columbus’ explorations helped find America; God’s words helped pen the constitution; Washington abolished tyranny and lead the colonies into freedom; And Martin Luther King Jr had to remind our country what God and our Constitution said at a most critical hour.
Tomorrow, we get to honor Martin Luther King Jr. He’s a legend in my eyes. Ever since I first read about him in elementary school, I have always looked up to and admired him. His life’s work and wisdom continue to inspire, and his name consistently comes up in the top three of my “Heroes List,” “Historical Figures I’d like to have over for Dinner List,” and “Who Would Have the Scariest Internship List.” I often think, “if I only had a quarter of the integrity, passion, and faith that Martin Luther King Jr had… I’d live to be a great man.” I look forward to meeting him. Until then, his words remain…
“Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man’s sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.” MLK 1963
I had the honor of spending last Thursday night listening to a hero of mine. Annie Leonard was speaking on the current materials economy and its inability to support the needs of future generations. Why? Because it’s unsustainable.
We’ve become professional consumers and our children and grandchildren are going to pay for it. Resources are being gobbled up faster than the natural rate of replacement. How is that fair? How is that just? Although, I don’t have all the answers, I do know this:
Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children…”
If we’re not thinking about the next generation(s), then what kind of men/women are we?
A friend recently shared a film with me called “The Dark Side of the Lens.” It’s 6 minutes of pure inspiration and beauty (See the film below). It reminded me how life isn’t meant to simply be observed, but experienced. Experience is what transforms a person’s paradigm and brings a paramount level of understanding.
Seeing the ocean from a distance is both enlightening and captivating, but you don’t really know much about her until you get little closer. It’s not until you immerse yourself in her cold embrace, taste her salt on your lips, and feel the power of her swell that you really understand who she is.
“Open your eyes and hearts to the world. Make up your own mind from experience and be inspired.” – Micky Smith
This is a great story. People finding a new way to pursue their passion and enjoy the great outdoors.
There’s an excess of bad news these days – the BP oil catastrophe, economies going bankrupt, and still no peace in the Middle East. It never seems to end. We’re constantly bombarded with the failures of man and the hopelessness of prolonged suffering. Sometimes it’s hard to keep one’s head up in order to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, being distracted from the light doesn’t mean it isn’t still there.
If you’ve felt heavy, frustrated, or depressed from all the bad news lately, then the following image will remind you of all the good in your life. Here’s something to be thankful for:
The words of great men and women echo through the generations. Words alone can be both powerful and meaningful. Yet never is a word more meaningful than when it’s supported by action. The timeless quote goes ”actions speak louder than words,” but words supported by action resonate in the souls of men forevermore.
I can say something like an ”injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” and it may sound clever enough, but when you exchange my voice with Martin Luther King Jr’s (the man who actually said it) its impact goes from a quick spark to a raging blaze. The same words spoken by two different people, but one is more meaningful and lasting. Why? Allow me to point out the obvious. Because I’m me and he’s MLK. To put it another way, my words about injustice are backed only by my experience with injustice, which happens to be miniscule when compared to MLK’s.
Experience and action reveal the character and the integrity of a man. These become the building blocks and the very substance of his words. You don’t have to be MLK in order to have your words make a lasting impact on people. Like all great men and women, you only have to do life with integrity and allow the virtues within your character shine. When people see who you are, they’ll want to hear your words.
Here are my top 5 quotes for the current season I’m in:
1) “A man has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so. ” ~ Walter Lippmann
2) “It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
3) “You are in integrity when the life you are living on the outside matches who you are on the inside.” ~ Alan Cohen
4) “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” ~ Mother Teresa
5) “A strong mind always hopes, and has always cause to hope.”~ Thomas Carlyle
