It is truly a brave new world out there. Oh, I know every generation sincerely tells their kids that they walked to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways, and that they should be very grateful for all the things they have that the prior generation didn’t. And I know every generation which hears this secretly thinks their parents or caregivers are archaic beyond their powers to express. And then, years down the road, the younger generation not only find themselves increasingly viewing their parents as quite the progressives…they have begun telling the next-younger generation the “uphill in the [...] Read more »
An Attitude of Gratitude
This phrase was something my dad often spoke of during my growing-up years. He talked about how important it was to cultivate an “attitude of gratitude”…about how just learning to be thankful for all the good things we take for granted can make such an impact in our day-to-day life. As an adult I find once again (quite usual these days) that he was right. I, for one, am really tired of hearing about how the American people in general are impoverished, hungry, naked, and homeless with no medical care of any kind (save for the aftershave bottles we all [...] Read more »
On Accidental Peeping Toms, Good Neighbors, and Voyeurism
I must confess that there have been some household difficulties in mi casa lately. It so happens that our house curtains were recalled due to child safety concerns, and since I am very opposed to the idea that any of our friends’ children would accidentally hang themselves on afore-mentioned Roman shades, we promptly returned them. In theory, the return was a laudable action, and I found fabric on a 50%-off sale and thought I’d whip up some replacement curtains in no time. (To be fair, I have been sewing since I was 4, so depending on the project, sewing some [...] Read more »
About Truth and Context
Let me tell you about a recent conversation I had (and no, I am not making this up. Please follow along with me as I recount the other person’s end of the conversation): MAN: Um, next time I see you, would you mind wearing a tank top? (The next time I see him) MAN: Um, would you mind pulling your tank top straps down off your shoulders a bit? MAN: Would you mind laying down? (At this point his hands go to my shirt) (Merciful ending to conversational account) No, this is not the lead-in to some unfortunate R-rated fluff [...] Read more »
On the Very Particular Inadequacy of Pat Robertson’s Words
Pat Robertson’s bizarre, horrifying words regarding the heartbreaking crisis in Haiti were simply beyond the pale, not only to all people of faith that I know personally, but also to people of no formal religious affiliation at all. Robertson has pretty much managed to offend everyone I know (and a whole lot of people I don’t) with his remarks. If he happens to view himself as an equal-opportunity kind of guy, the type that likes to offend all groups equally, he has certainly hit more than a home run with this one. Author Donald Miller has written a thoughtful response [...] Read more »
The Inadequacy of Words…
For a couple days now I have struggled to find words…and I still don’t have them. Like many others around the world, I am horrified by the unfolding devastation in Haiti. The layers of terror keep peeling off, each layer worse than the one before, and the news becomes more and more incomprehensible. I read projections of hundreds of thousands of lives lost, and I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around it. Even one life lost is too many…and as I try to comprehend, let alone understand, the stark reality that millions of human beings have just lost [...] Read more »
On Making Mistakes
We all do it. Making mistakes, that is. And how we choose to handle our mistakes can be a very instructive exercise in observing human nature. In my experience, there is rarely a better opportunity to see the scope and variety of these differences in mistake management than in a choir rehearsal. (In my adult life, I have come to realize that a choir rehearsal is often a microcosm for human relationships in general.) So feel free to listen in with me on a recent mistake-rich rehearsal. It should be mentioned upfront that before I ever even made it to [...] Read more »
Totally Random Quotes I Like
This is a completely random sampling of some interesting quotes. A few are old favorites of mine, and some are recently acquired, but all of them interest me in some way or the other. Feel free to scroll down and around; there is no particular order of any kind to their arrangement. Please feel free to post your own favorite quotes in the comments section, or shoot me an email with them instead if you’d rather. Enjoy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We see others not as they are, but as we are.~~Unknown A large volume of adventures may be grasped within this little [...] Read more »
On Facebook and Technology
Okay. So I will be the first one to admit that my social skills (or lack of them thereof) are woefully inadequate for this phenomenon known as Facebook. Apparently I am not far enough up the evolutionary ladder to have acquired and adapted the qualities and skillset I need in order to function appropriately in this new space frontier anytime in the near future. Let me see. For starters, all of the body, voice, movement, and social cues that we humans have become so subconsciously adept at reading (you know, the ones that communication experts tell us make up more [...] Read more »
On Solitude and Social Connection
I grew up in a rural area, where some of the coldest and most extreme weather of the continental United States cycles back every winter for months at a time. Besides providing an unending source of income for such cold-weather retail giants as Eddie Bauer, growing up in the prairies of the Dakotas provided an interesting perspective on the dual necessity of connectedness to others while it also demanded the ability to exist equally comfortably in solitude. For example, as I grew older, I saw that part of the friendliness of northern rural culture was born of necessity: you needed [...] Read more »