A Small and Simple Thing

Have you noticed how plugged in we have become? We've got mini computers with instant internet access, in our hands. We've got smart phones, tablet computers, notebook computers laptop computers, and desktop computers in our pockets, in our homes, or available at public libraries. We've got hundreds of television channels competing for our attention at all hours of the day and night. We've got radio over the airwaves and through satellite. If there's still nothing that suits your fancy, you can go the "old fashioned" route and buy music to play on a CD player, an MP3 player or one of the afore mentioned devices. We can literally fill every waking and sleeping moment with news or entertainment. Even if we're not really paying attention, we've become accustomed to having something as background noise.

There's just one question I'd like to ask, "Why?" Why do we feel the need to muffle out silence with noise? Are we so uncomfortable with the quiet inside our own minds that we must block it out? What are we afraid of?

What would have happened if Mozart had blocked out the music in his mind in exchange for the quickly produced work of a lesser artist? Would he have still been the inspired composer he was? Just try to imagine George Fredric Handel wearing ear buds while writing the Messiah. Could he have finished the entire score for choir and orchestra in 24 grueling days with the constant background noise we've come to expect? What would our world be like if Edison or Tesla had become prey to some of the very inventions they were instrumental in creating? What about all the great works of literature? Would they have been possible if their authors had been as bombarded as we with the "creative" ideas of others? Are we diminishing our own potential by staying plugged in?

This week is an excellent time to take a little time for a small change. It's something simple, really, just unplug for a few minutes every day and listen. Become aware of the sounds around you. Become aware of your thoughts, your own thoughts, not those poured in by others. Take a little time to practice pondering questions or ideas that are important to you. Perhaps, you will unlock a bit of overlooked greatness in yourself.

 

"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."

Of Great Worth

I'm a newspaper comic strip reader.  The day is not quite complete without the daily dose of vitamin "Comic."I'm usually reading for the light-hearted humor. Sometimes there are precious little nuggets of truth tucked within the newsprint pixels on the comics page. I found a wonderful one today. I'm not a regular reader of the Doonesbury comic strip but every once in a while I read it. I'm glad I didn't miss today's submission.

Two disabled military veterans, B. D. and Toggle, are talking together.  Toggle is a newlywed who's awed by married life and the way his wife has been able to adapt to his disability. He's determined to stay worthy of her love.  B. D. is caught off guard as he realizes how much his own wife does to make his day better. It's more eloquently said in the strip than I can relay in a couple of sentences.  A picture really is worth a thousand words.

The strip has me thinking about what it means to be worthy.  Worthy means having merit or value or to be revered. I think of phrases like "worth your salt" or "not worth a tinker's dam." (By the way, I looked that last one up just to know what a" tinker's dam" is. I feel a little more educated about metal working now.)  Being worthy of respect is one thing, but to be worthy of another's compassion and love is another. It's a humbling thought.

Proverbs 31:10-11

¹⁰ Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

¹¹ The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

Today is Veteran's Day 2012.  I send my love and appreciation to my family, friends and ancestors who've sacrificed to help defend our freedoms at home and abroad.

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Back Up and Punt

It's been a back-up-and-punt kind of week.  You know the kind of week I'm talking about. You get things running smoothly and then something happens that throws the whole plan off.  It's not typically something over which you have control.  It's your attitude and response that makes the big difference if the final outcome.  This week there have been several events happen that required me and our family to take a step back and make a new plan.

First, one of my children got sick. It wasn't just a case of sniffles. All of a sudden he looked like he'd been awake for 2 days straight.  Within 24 hours he had a temperature of 105 degrees and was sitting in a tub of cool water. Ah, the contingency plans.  What do I need to do if the fever doesn't break? Where should I go and how soon to I make that decision? With basic treatment of symptoms and observation he was better within 48 hours, but that was 48 hours put on hold. I'm better prepared for the next time someone's ill.

Then there were a couple of situations that came up with extended family members that were upsetting.  These weren't situations I could personally go and fix.  What I could do is offer comfort and support. Offering a hug, a prayer and a listening ear from a distance feels a little hollow.

Finally, plans for the end of the week were completely upended when I offered to help support one of our local organizations teach a class three hours away.  I had about 20 hours to study for the presentation, pack up and get moving. It worked out that it allowed me to help support a family member in person. 

Over all, it's been a positive week.  Sure there have been setbacks but there have been positive opportunities that have come as a result.

The news this has been filled with news about hurricane Sandy as it slowly drenched the east coast from the Carolinas to Maine.  It's been a tremendous setback for the people of Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.  It's been awe inspiring to watch.  It's been like watching a disaster in slow motion in a movie knowing what the outcome is bound to be.  This storm converged with another cold weather system on a full moon during a high tide over land that is at or barely above sea level.  It's been awful for people in a huge area.  If they didn't have the flood of the century, they had 24 or more hours of hurricane force winds.  Many people had both. Over in the Appalachians there was snow from the storm. it wasn't just a little, pleasant dusting, there was a healthy 2-4 feet of snow.

The really sad and disturbing thing is that many, many people  were extremely ill prepared for the situation.  It's not the government's fault.  There was over a week's worth of warnings  and advisories.  They were hard to miss unless you didn't hear a radio, see a television, see a newspaper or listen to anyone talking about the news.  I've heard recordings of emergency calls with people begging for the most basic needs. What went wrong? Did they miss the news? Did they think the warnings were overblown media hype? Are they incapable of making emergency preparations? Are they without a support system of family or friends? The recovery is barely beginning and the same area is expecting another storm system to come through in a few days.  I feel for those folks. I am willing to help but I believe in personal responsibility as well. It's time to reassess my own emergency plans and preparations and to learn from the mistakes and successes of others.

We're in the midst of the final days of a presidential election campaign.  The candidates have had to adjust their campaign schedules because of the extreme weather.  They even did the unheard of and suspended their campaigns for a day. The sitting president went into leadership mode and made sure he looked calm and presidential while his emergency management programs worked furiously behind the screens. The prominent opponent organized truck loads of necessary supplies to sent into the affected areas. It was a presidential campaign truce for a day. They had to step back and adjust their carefully laid plans. There were more important needs that demanded immediate action.

This coming Tuesday is Election Day.  I've listened to people talk about this election for two years.  They supported one candidate or another.  Some lost their favorites early in the Primary campaign process.  Some people simply re-evaluated the remaining candidates and chose a new best choice.  Others have decided to forgo supporting any candidate if their favorite was eliminated.  These are the people who I don't understand.

Voting for our leadership is a privilege.  Let me say that again. voting for our leadership is a privilege.  If we do not fulfill our responsibility as adults in a free nation, we will find  our privileges being eroded and eliminated including the right to vote.  An apathetic citizenry is one of the historic causes of the collapse of the great civilizations throughout history.

I plan to vote Tuesday.  I will carefully consider my choices. I will stand in line. I will show an ID. I will do whatever it takes to be there. Will you?

Procedure Part 4: Juggling Act

I've tried to learn to juggle a few times.  Let me correct that, I've played with learning to juggle.  One ball is no problem.  Two are manageable.  Three become more complicated, requiring more concentration and skill than I naturally have. Taking on that fourth ball is out of the question.  I end up with a confused explosion of balls going in every direction.

I'm still working my plan and the juggling is getting complex.  I'm exercising and keeping an eagle's eye on my diet.  True couch potato cheat days are not a luxury I will allow myself at this point in my journey to a stronger, healthier me. I'm too far from my goal to feel over-confident and close enough that I can visualize not only my year end goal but my ultimate goal as well.

My piano and I are getting reacquainted again.  I've been entertaining my awakening children with the pitiful early morning pecking and plunking beginner. I really should take the pillows off their beds before I start. I've found them with heads buried under layers of pillows more than once. I've not been as consistent as I'd like and I'm not quite back up to the level I was 8 month ago.  Progress is being made and I'm content with that. More practice in juggling that piano ball is in order.

Now, it's becoming critical that I add another of my goals into the mix.  I've got genealogy research to do.  There's that 72 page book with handwritten additions and corrections that needs tending.  I need deadlines.  I find I can focus on a project when it's got to be done by a particular date instead of sometime-when-I-get-around-to-it.

I found my dad sawing an old broom handle in to little disks one day.  He was making a batch of "Round-To-Its."  He was a supervisor for his section of the factory where he worked.  He kept a few of these little Round-To-Its in his pocket to hand out.  There was no excuse for not getting a job done.  He made sure that if someone needed a Round-To-It, they got one.   I think I need one of my dad's Round-To-Its.

I've put off this particular project because I know it can be all-consuming. As I get deeper in my research with a good lead, I forget about eating or sleeping. Hours can pass unnoticed. Just one more place to look. It'll only take a few minutes and then I'll quit.  That's the logic that takes over when I get a good lead. Who knows if I'll find that thread of links and documentation again? 

Genealogy research is never done. People die, are born, get married... families don't just stay the same.  My research of last spring was obsolete within days of my printing it. It's daunting.  How am I going to juggle four balls?  My best idea is to take advantage of my previous practice.  I've been working on health and fitness goals for several weeks now.  It's becoming second nature.  I'm seeing success and I'm reasonably comfortable with my progress. I can cluster diet and exercise into one ball toss.  That leaves me with just three again, but oh, man, that third ball is going to take some concentration. I need to set aside a particular time each day or a particular day each week to complete this task.

It's time to redouble my efforts and keep promises I've made to my family.  Focus. Concentration. A goal. A deadline. Got it. Wish me luck. 

Of Walls and Bridges

I remember back home there used to be a narrow steel bridge that crossed over the Tennessee River.  One side of the bridge was sitting right at the edge of town with a stately old antebellum mansion beside its expanse. The western side was approached by a long levee. The bridge rose steeply above the river banks on either side in a steep little hill.  It was so narrow that traffic in one direction was often halted for an unusually wide vehicle to cross.  I can clearly remember crossing the bridge on the school bus.  If you were sitting toward the inside of the bridge you could see how close the bus's mirrors came to those of approaching large trucks.  If you sat on the outside edge by the window, sometimes you could look almost straight down at the river below.

Eventually it was decided that this little iron icon of our community was an impediment to traffic flow and commerce. Roadwork commenced with many hundreds of tons of rock and dirt being brought in to widen the levee that approached the bridge to the west.  There was a long stretch of river bottom flat lands there than had served as fertile pastures and fields for generations of area farmers.  This new road bed was laid beside the old so that two lanes of the new four-lane bridge could be begun beside the old bridge. The town side didn't have the land to expand the road bed so luxuriously.  The matching approach had to be accomplished in a much shorter space.

It was fascinating to watch the new bridge being built.  Great pile drivers drove supports in to the bank and the river bed.  Cement mixers lined up to add their load to the project like a column of ants on the move. Eventually great steel-reinforced concrete beams were laid across the supports.  That's when the immensity of the new bridge began to be real. Its road bed towered over the old bridge in a graceful, smooth arch.

The first time I road across the bridge from town was a breath taking experience.  There was the road rising like a wall slanting into the sky before us.  I'm sure my immature eyes made it bigger than it was but still, with the old bridge still sitting there, the climb looked immense.  But climb we did and at the top of the smooth, newly paved arch was the most spectacular view of the countryside.  You could see an uncluttered view of the great bend of the river, the islands, the farm land, and houses tucked among the trees along the bank.  Looking backward I found myself at eye level with the peak of the county seat's courthouse sitting on its prominence back in town.  That seeming wall was just a hill well worth climbing.

Now, what's gotten me thinking about walls and bridges?  Last week if felt as if I'd hit a wall in my efforts to improve myself.  Stumbling blocks I understand. They are small. You can see beyond them. You can see a way past them, the steps, a time line, a plan. It was really a couple of small things combined that built this wall for me. Perhaps my attitude was less than optimally positive as I approached the situation. In any case it was a wall that I was facing in my mind's immature eye.

Sometimes when you find a wall, you need a friend to help you see it's really just a bridge. That's what happened for me. My friend showed me the challenges weren't insurmountable.  They're just steps to something greater.  

There's a life lesson there in the consideration of walls and bridges.

Procedure Part 3: Revising the Plan

It's been a week of changing focus and priorities.  My third goal is to learn to play the piano.

Back when our daughter was a young teen, we purchased a used, upright piano.  It's a small instrument with real ivory and ebony keys. It can sing in the hands of an experienced pianist. It's 70 or 80 years old with gentle Art Deco lines I love. I love the feel of the old finish on the wood. I love the slightly warm feel of the keys. I love knowing that it had many years of life before it came to our home.  It's a piece of art as much as an instrument to me.

I was listening as a man at church described his mother's attempts to enhance his cultural education.  First, there were tap dance lessons.  Then there were accordion lessons. Finally, he took piano lessons.  For six years from age 6 to 12 he practiced 2 hours per day.  It's been many years since his last lesson but those hours are still evident.  I can imagine him playing Chopin as easily as Scott Joplin or classic rock as easily as a sweet hymn.  There's an enthusiasm as he plays that I find infectious. My fingers almost tingle with a desire to play something recognizable as I listen.

Now for my conundrum, how do I find the time to learn to play the piano?  I was taking lessons earlier this year for a few months.  My progress was slow but it was progress.  I had high hopes for being able to play a seasonal song by Christmas of this year.  Then summer hit like a tornado in a barbed wire fence.  My teacher was in the midst of selling her house and moving to a new one.  Summer camps, summer chores, summer responsibilities all squeezed my time until the meager 30 minute daily piano practice time was delayed a few hours, then a few days, then a week.  It's been 3 or 4 months now since I dared make a faltering attempt at those last exercise assignments.  I dread knowing just how much I've lost over the months with no practice.

This week, my first two goals attained an even greater importance with the news that hip replacement surgery is in my future.  Those goals must be a top priority now for the sake of health and longevity of an already damaged joint.  The weight loss is coming along at a reasonable, sustainable rate. I'm no candidate for a "Biggest Loser" contest but I consider myself a winner for the sustainable progress in diet, fitness, and weight loss that I've made.

I'm needing to toss a new goal into the mix.  I need to learn to swim. This is no longer an option for some day in the future.  Swimming is an activity that would be beneficial as a low impact exercise before and following surgery.  I can't imagine trying to learn to swim at the same time I'm trying to learn to live with a new joint.  It seems imprudent to delay learning to swim until the need is imminent. I can do this but where do I find the time?

Perhaps there's a few minutes in the morning, before the hustle of the day begins where I can caress those ivory keys, if awkwardly. It's going to take an higher degree of personal discipline than I've asked of myself to this point.

Proverbs 19:15

Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep;

And an idle soul shall isuffer hunger.

Proverbs 23:21
For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty:

And drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. 

Benjamin Franklin

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Perhaps, even further changes are needed to ensure I have adequate rest as well as adequate waking hours in the day to reach my goals.

Procedure Part 2: Keep Moving Forward

Goal number 2 is to loose weight.  There was a time when simply cleaning up my eating habits would mean quick weight loss.  Those days are apparently gone.  My body has gotten comfortable with those extra cells hanging around and is in no to hurry to bid them adieu.

I've committed myself to a 3-4 month intensive push to loose weight. I've set a particular weight loss goal and a time frame in which to accomplish that loss. I'm working with a trainer 3 or 4 times per week.  I'm hoping to finally learn to swim around the end of that push. With hard work, I'll look less like a beached whale wrapped in colorful fabric after 20 pounds have gone. Swimming would give me a good, non-weight bearing, aerobic exercise.  It would allow me to spend time with my family in an activity they enjoy.

This process is about 8 weeks along.  I've been frustrated at times. I try to keep a positive, one-little-bit-at-a-time attitude. Sometimes I find myself repeating, "Do Your Best," the Cub Scout motto.  Other times it's "Keep Moving Forward" from the movie Meet the Robinsons.  I was thrilled this week when I pulled out a belt I hadn't worn for a few weeks and found I needed to add a hole. I drilled that extra hole through the leather belt with relish.  My trainer has been a fantastic coach. A word of encouragement here, a push to do two more reps there keeps me progressing even on those days when I approach the session with a little secret dread. I always leave each session with a better, more positive attitude.

With all that said, I've picked the absolute worst time of year to try to loose weight. I had a friend who'd tracked his weight over several years.  He found that every year in the fall he gained a few pounds regardless of diet or exercise factors.  I'd love to see research that backs that observation up and explains why it happens. It's easier to change a "what" when you understand the "why."  In any case, the holiday feast season is coming up fast.  The store aisles are already packed with holiday sweets.  Pie pumpkins are piled with the big jack-o-lantern pumpkins and colorful fall squashes.  Special displays are set aside for baking supplies.

I love to cook.  I love to explore American favorites as well as western and eastern European  foods.  I like to experiment with more exotic dishes.  I have a small collection of family favorite holiday treats. Most are laiden with sugar and rich fats that made so much more sense in a household that rose early to care for animals, spent hours chopping logs into wood for heat and a host of other heavy manual labors.  How do I go about recreating the essence of those favorites or capturing the fragrances we associate with the holidays while maintaining a more appropriate diet?  That's a challenge I'll be facing over the next few weeks.

Yep, I'm right back to Goal #1 while working on Goal #2. I can do this.