Monday Motivation

 

Perspective

It's been a week!
It's now Saturday evening and I'm enjoying a cigar, the fights are on, and I'm reflecting on the day. I thought I'd write some thoughts down for Sunday morning's post.

This afternoon (Saturday) I had just left the house to meet our daughter for a post-election celebratory drink. I was only about a mile from the house when my phone rang. It was the ER at the hospital where I am on call as chaplain this week. They told me they were moving a patient to the OB ward for post event observation after what they called fetal demise. She was 22 weeks pregnant and had just lost the baby. Although they hadn't requested a chaplain, the ER nurse called me.

I made the course correction and headed to the hospital. On the 30+ minute drive I was thinking about how small the world can seem at times. 
For the past several days, much of the world was watching as the results of our (the US) presidential election slowly came in. Here in the States, there were demonstrations, a fair amount of hand wringing, and much speculation on the future of the government's make up. We have been concerned with state elections, national elections, and international impact. This election had the greatest citizen participation with millions of more voters participating and having their voices heard at every level of government.

But in that moment, none of that mattered.

Nobody asked or cared if the young couple was Trump supporters, Biden supporters, or if they even voted. It didn't matter if they favored universal health care, were prolife or pro-choice, or what religion they practiced (if any). The medical staff at the hospital did what they were trained to do and then called me to come and minister to them in their very small world. 
On Saturday morning this young woman woke up expecting to be a mommy in a few months. By Saturday afternoon, that wasn't going to happen. That was their whole world.

Perspective.

There are millions of others that live in pretty small worlds. Around 600 people in Springfield MO are more concerned with finding a warm, safe place to sleep -- tonight. Many more than that don't know how they will feed their kids -- tonight. There are people in my community that are suffering physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Families are separated and dealing with pandemic issues -- on this very night. 
I'm not saying that we shouldn't be concerned with the big picture. But we also need to bring our focus in and look around us, at the people and the needs around us. We need to know that we can make a difference in their small world -- in our small world, and we can do it today.
You probably know somebody that could use a phone call. Call them.
You might know somebody that really needs a visit. Visit them.
Maybe you know somebody that needs a meal. Fix them a meal, buy them a gift card, or take them out if you can. 
Not sure who to help or how to help. Visit a thrift store or discount store and buy as many cheap warm coats as you can and donate them to a shelter. You can make a difference in your world. 

Without the labels -- red, blue, conservative, liberal, Christian, Muslim, atheist, etc. -- we are all just human beings trying to make it through the day. Why not help each other?
Life doesn't have to be a competition. It isn't that important that you finish the day with more stuff than me or somehow ahead of me or anyone else. We can finish together. 

My heart breaks for the young couple that I prayed with today. I know that their world is ugly today. I don't know that I was able to offer them any comfort because they were truly devastated when I saw them. You may feel like that, too. Do what you can. Keep things in perspective. Share some love. 

John  

Call the Election: It's time to stop the dying

It's hard to believe that the 2020 United States Presidential Election is yet to be decided.
It's Saturday for crying out loud!

As the election continues to dominate the news, the US has faced a growing and spreading pandemic. We have set records on daily new infections. The national death total is climbing towards a quarter of a million dead Americans. As the election dominates the news, I wonder if anything is being done (at any level) to address our woeful handling of the pandemic.

I don't expect there to be any quick change in policy concerning the pandemic. There needs to be a change in the national attitude toward the pandemic and efforts to stop its spread. We need to start doing the right things concerning hand washing, social distancing, and masking -- All of us!

I really don't expect the science denying followers of Trump to all of a sudden believe that wearing a mask will help, but maybe they will at least recognize the foolishness of claiming it to be a democratic hoax.
Maybe.

I expect that the rank and file Trump supporters of southwest Missouri to continue with life as usual -- large family holiday gatherings, community and work holiday parties and celebrations, big church sponsored Christmas pageants, etc. Without some serious behavioral changes, I fully expect to see a half million dead by the time we hit the one year mark since the first big shutdown. I am hopeful that we will soon (before Jan 20) see more science information from the CDC experts.

I fully realize the negative economic impact of a shutdown. It may be necessary for another brief amount of time. If secondary protocols had been enforced after the early shutdown, we wouldn't be where we are today. Maybe just an enforcement of those protocols now would prove to be a positive move in reducing the spread and easing the burdens on our hospitals and local healthcare facilities.

For local friends, do your part. Encourage others to do their part. Stay safe. Stay healthy.
I'll be back tomorrow.

John

50/50: It shouldn't be a bad thing

The problem isn't that we are divided to a nearly 50% blue vs nearly 50% red nation. The problem is the divisive polarity between the two. If our elected representatives truly represented the citizens of the country they would work together for the good of all of us rather than fighting for what they perceive to be their half of the country.

It appears that we will have a President that says he will be the President for all Americans and a Senate Majority Leader that says he will do whatever is necessary to oppose everything that President wants to do -- even in opposing potential cabinet nominations.

Choosing which party leads the country forward should be just that. We still need to move forward. 
If we were a football team, it would be like the offensive line refusing to block because they want the 2nd string quarterback on the field. We are still supposed to be on the same team, still working towards the same goals. Priorities and methods may be different under different leadership, but we shouldn't be working against each other. Republicans and democrats are not supposed to be enemies, just different voices on the same team.
This is also true within the parties. The moderate factions are not the enemies of the more progressive or more conservative factions. In fact, the more moderate factions should be the bridges to reaching across the aisle to the other party. We have truly lost sight of the simple fact that we are citizens of the same country.

Just some Friday moment post-election thoughts.
I have more. Maybe tomorrow.
Maybe not.

John  

Thankful

We took some time away from checking on the status of the few remaining states last night and had our daughter and son-in-law over for dinner. It was a late birthday dinner for Hannah.

I was doing dishes after they left and mentioned to Chris how thankful I am that our kids have turned out to be pretty wonderful adults and have also managed to pick pretty wonderful spouses. 

We had a very enjoyable evening just visiting over dinner and for quite awhile afterwards. Although part of the conversation was about the election and the pandemic, for the most part the evening was a respite from the worries of the world. It was a time of just hanging out with the kids.

I've only noticed a few people doing the daily thankful-for posts on Facebook this year during the month of November. I haven't been participating in that and probably won't, but that doesn't mean that I don't have plenty of things for which I am truly thankful. My daily quiet time and added hours of pandemic solitude have given me many hours of reflection on the blessings of my life (including added hours of solitude!).

I know that there are a number of you that are struggling with how to handle typically large family gatherings for this year's Thanksgiving celebration. I have no advice for you other than to be thoughtful as you make those decisions and encourage everyone to be graceful as they recognize their thoughts and feelings might be different than others. That gracefulness in differences is something I'm working on.

Be well.
Be thankful.
Be gracious.

John

Here We Are

Wednesday morning.
Not much has changed.

Results are not finalized in the US election. It will be close -- again. Once again the popular vote will go to the Democratic candidate. The electoral vote will be close. The few states that remain in play are so close that even with 95% of the vote counted, they are too close to call.

I'm disappointed.
I'm also pretty privileged in that my life will not change much. I live in a deeply red part of the country. The pandemic is denied and slowly spreading, so we will stay at home. Our state government will continue to be red and will continue to oppress the marginalized segments of the population.

I will do what I've been doing.
I will help others when and where I can.  
I will encourage others to help when and where they can.
I will struggle to love those that oppose my efforts to love the people that they do not love.

Everybody wants to be on the winning team. But my recent life struggle has been in moving away from the binary systems of winners and losers, rich and poor, right and left, conservatives and liberals, good and evil, straight and queer, black and white.
Most of life happens in the grey, in-between areas of life. I live between liberal and conservative. I live in the grey. From the middle you can see that the sides do not communicate with each other -- they yell at each other. I think that the majority of us live in the middle with tendencies toward one side or the other. I don't think that the middle is represented very well in our government.

I'll take care of the people that I can.
Today I am going to send a glass tubed, bourbon infused cigar to a Vietnam vet so that he can have it to smoke on November 10th, the birthday of the US Marine Corps. An annual cigar is his way of celebration and remembrance; his way of honoring his fellow vets that are no longer with us. Sharing a decent cigar from my humidor allows me to honor his service.

Do something kind for someone today. Add a little good to your area of the world -- today.
Share something good. Go ahead -- brag on yourself a little. Tell me something -- big or small -- that you did or are doing for someone else.
Lift my spirits. Restore my faith n humanity. Tell me something good.

John

Two-fer Tuesday--Election Day evening thoughts

It's Tuesday evening and polls on the east coast are still open for a couple of hours. As I said this morning -- today has been pretty much like any other day. I've been busy enough that I haven't checked any news sources, nor have I spent much time on social media. In the few moments that I've scrolled through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter I have been encouraged by the relatively calm encouragement that we will go on tomorrow with calm encouragement.

While there is a certainty that we all want our side to win, there also seems to be a confidence that things will be okay no matter the outcome of the election. The losing parties will continue to fight the injustices they see and begin to form plans for midterm elections in '22. The winners will layout their plans for the new legislature in 2021 and how to work with or oppose the White House strategies.

I'm feeling a reserved, but calm energy. We will see if that changes throughout the night.
Sleep well, my friends. The sun is still planning on rising in the morning. 
And there will still be work to do.

John

A Day Like Any Other

Okay, so it's not exactly like any other day. It is Election Day in the United States.

But for the most part...
It's morning coffee on the sunny (but cool) deck.
I'm doing the daily blog thing and listening to some morning news.
I'll do a little internet surfing and maybe a little devotional reading.
After a little morning exercise (emphasis on little), I'll head out to do the volunteer chaplain thing at Mercy Hospital in Aurora.
I cast my ballot last week, so today will be pretty much like every other day.

I imagine that I'll be watching news coverage tonight -- which is not like any other day.

Tomorrow morning I expect to have my coffee on a sunny, but cool deck. I'll do the daily blogging thing and listen to some morning news. I'll do a little internet surfing and a little devotional reading, etc., etc.

I don't want to minimize the impact of today's election.
Neither do I want to pretend that there will not be some negative (possibly violent) reaction to the results from today's election. 
But regardless of the presidential winner and the legislative winners, The United States will continue on. The peaceful transfer (or continuation) of power is a hallmark of the US. In spite of words that have been spoken to the contrary, the people of the US still speak and our voices will still be heard and recognized. We may witness a child-like tantrum. There may not be a cordial letter left in the Resolute Desk, but there will be a transfer of power if that's the way the election goes. 

If you have followed me for very long or know my heart and character, you know how I voted and what my hopes are for this country. You also know that next week, next month, next year will find me still looking for ways to serve during the pandemic, smoking an occasional cigar, and working on making my little corner of the world a welcome place for anyone that drops in. 
If you will work on your little corner of the world in a similar manner, we can make that welcome feeling available to more people in more places around the globe. 

If you are a reader in the US, my hope for you today is peace.
If you are a friend in another country, my hope for you is peace.
And for all of you -- I wish you love.

John 

 

A Place of Peace

I'm spending the day at The Venues Battlefield location. The church building is open to allow people a place of sanctuary and peace, as well as a place to come and pray as we head into election day. I know that the staff has primarily been working from home, and the staff that is here has work to do. I figured that being here is a small way to help. 

I have my laptop, my phone, a charger that works for both, and my coffee. I'm pretty much set.

I was listening to NPR on the drive into Springfield this morning. They were talking about stress -- stress caused by the election, stress caused by the pandemic, stress that is a part of normal, everyday life -- and the terrible ways it can affect our health. 
Apparently, Google searches for "insomnia" are way up over the past few months. Not surprising is that they peak at around 3am. Disrupted sleep is one of the chief side effects of stress. A companion side effect is that we have to deal with people that don't get enough sleep.

Westerners aren't very skilled at meditation. Maybe it's part of the reason we lead the world in stress related health issues. Maybe it's a part of the reason we have so many wars and conflicts. It might help if we all had a nice nap every afternoon -- a world wide siesta.

I hope that you are able to find a place of peace today. If you are in the Springfield MO area and need a quiet refuge, feel free to drop in before 3pm. Your place of peace might be a nature walk, a back porch, a quiet moment at the kitchen table. Just find a place and a time to give your spirit a moment of rest; a moment of peace.

John

NaBloPoMo

NaBloPoMo -- National Blog Posting Month begins today. Bloggers are encouraged to write a post for every day of the month of November. A few bloggers do post every day, but it seems that they are becoming pretty rare (at least in my blogging circle). I've participated in NaBloPoMo for several years, and will do so again this year. I may end up with several two-fers on days that I post Monday Motivation or Wednesday Wisdom memes, or I may just let the memes serve as my daily post. I would like to write more often. I just don't feel very motivated to do it on most mornings.

November seems to draw a lot of attention. It is also National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) where writers are encouraged to begin/finish/work on a novel everyday. It is Movember -- where men are encouraged to grow moustaches to raise awareness of men's health issues like prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men's suicide.
Hmmm...Maybe I should just grow a moustache and forget the daily blogging thing.
Or I could write a few posts about men's health and actually go the doctor for a check-up. I suppose I could do both. Even doing both would be way easier than writing a novel.

In the US, November brings Election Day and Thanksgiving. Globally, it brings the Christmas shopping season. I'm envious of my southern hemisphere friends and family that are in their spring while we endure the cooling of autumn and head towards winter.
Ah, well -- life goes on.

Happy November!
John