A Few Things to Ponder

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Allow me to share with you something about myself. What I write here is usually spawned by something that strikes me as important or significant at the moment. It is NOT something that I have usually pondered from my college days or even over the last several years. Certainly my background and upbringing…even my education may ultimately have an impact on what I write, but most of the time something hits me as I see it, and it hits me hard.  Now my view on things will certainly not always be yours as well, and that’s okay…in fact, it’s good. Take my most read blog to this point about Sandra Bullock’s divorce and adoption situation. For many people, that is just more gossip…something that they can simply and easily pick up at their neighborhood grocery or convenience store. It doesn’t matter to them, even to some in my own family, because they don’t follow that stuff…entertainment news and the like in this case. But I have been through divorce and they have not! And that makes a big…no, a huge difference, and so it’s meaningful to me to write about the pain she is about to go through (which has already begun by the way) and about the days ahead of her of raising that beautiful little boy alone and what impact that may have on him. They have not walked in my shoes and so this story doesn’t matter to them. I get it, and that’s okay…I love my family and what is important to me many times is not important to them because we are different people who have different life experiences that we draw upon. You and I are no different and so what I write here one day may have extreme significance to you because you can relate to it, or on the other hand may have no significance at all because you can’t. Either way, the point is that we are each impacted daily but those things that touch us and move us in a personal way. That’s who I am…the naked truth, take it or leave it.  

 I watched a movie from beginning to end this afternoon, having only seen bits and pieces of it before, but I watched it with real intensity today and discovered some interesting nuggets that I want to share with you. Now please note that I don’t believe that every movie made (though I like most all movies on some level) has a big impact in my way of thinking or my way of living. But today I was confronted with the issue I wrote about yesterday, only in this movie it was called ‘potential’. What is my potential today as opposed to what it was 25 years ago when I was in the process of forming those dreams and goals for my life. The point was made that 25 years ago when I was only age 25 I had to realize (and I’m not saying that I did) that I was an adult, and as such, from that point on every decision I made was mine and mine alone. No more safety net of hiding behind my parents, my upbringing, or my life’s background. No, it was mine to own forever and always…for good or bad. Furthermore, potential is a fickle thing…one can be full of it at a certain point in life and then, if not pursued vigorously, it could suddenly and without warning just…disappear. Vanish. Gone, leaving me it the wake of its ripple. And having passed on the chance given I will probably, with few exceptions,  never have that opportunity for potential again. If that sounds like a frightening premise, it should…because it is! We only get one chance…one go-around in this life, and there ARE no do-overs, as much as we’d all like to have them, like a ‘life-line’ on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I know I’d take several hundred of those home with me to pull out at the right time because the good Lord knows I’ve made my share of mistakes and wished for more than my share of do-overs. Unfortunately I don’t have pockets big enough for all the do-overs I would want, even if it WERE available to me…none of us do!

   Let me end by challenging you with what I was once again challenged to think about today: 1) is it better to try and fail or to fail to try? Certainly there is merit in being safe and taking the easy road instead of that ‘path less traveled’ but in failing to even try what are we giving up in our lives that could potentially catapult us into greatness, however you choose to define that in your own life. Are we being selfish and cowardly to not try or are we simply doing the smart thing…not just for ourselves but for our families whom we have to think about as well? These are tough questions and questions that those who choose to go to battle for this great country in which I am privileged to live have to make when signing up for the Armed Forces…tough questions for those who choose a vocation that puts them in harm’s way, like those who protect us: police, fire, EMTs, and the like. Many of those heros (in my book) never come home from work but their lives meant something to them that few of us could understand. They stood for something they believed in! They served those that they cared for, even those whom they would never know nor ever hear a word of thanks from, and they did it without regret or without regard for their own personal safety. To those in this very special class of people…my hat is off to you and my heart is thankful to you…more than I can put into words. And 2) peace and righteousness. There is a famous saying from one of our great Presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt: “If I must choose between peace and righteousness, then I choose righteousness.” I find his quote to be a very gutsy one because they are both honorable and noble desires…they are both Biblical…they are both essential to our humanity as a whole. So how does one choose between these two very lofty aspirations. Today and for decades, even centuries, the talk has been about peace in the Land and across the globe…certainly it is something that we all hope for, pray for, and many fight and give their lives for. Righteousness, on the other hand, is more a statement of character and conscience…something that we hold closer to our chest…to our heart…to the very core of our soul. The Word of God speaks often and strongly about a righteous man (or woman)  and their place in the Kingdom of God and as an example of Jesus Christ. God came to this earth, afterall, in the form of man, Jesus, to teach us about love and about living a righteous and upright life, no matter the cost…because there IS a cost to both options here. Both options certainly have their very strong merits and I’m not here today to debate whether FDR was right or wrong in his words. Only that they are important words for each of us to contemplate right now…today…wherever you find yourself in this journey of life. I truly believe that your answer will ultimately define your potential…who you are and who you will become in your days ahead. If you are anything like me, then you absolutely MUST stop for at least a moment and consider the question. I have and I believe I will every day from this day forward! blessings! j