Good morning, God, and thanks for this new day in my life. It's getting cold here in Idaho these days--it seems like yesterday that we were turning on the air conditioner to cool off the house a bit. Now we can see snow on the not-so-distant mountains, and we've even had a few days of rain to enjoy. On this new day, I hope to do something helpful and useful to and for others, so I most definitely would appreciate your help in seeing what would be good to do, and what would be counterproductive or even destructive. Making decisions isn't always easy, and any help I can get to make the right ones would make me very grateful.
It's Thursday, so most of the work week has gone by. We have just two more days of classes until we have another weekend, and I'm looking forward to that! Last weekend was spent on the go and correcting papers and such, so this weekend promises to be restful.
In this day ahead, though, I do want to ask for your guidance in a very specific area. As a teacher I find that there are many, many grey areas in which it seems like I should be able to do something, while at the same time it seems that it really isn't my place even to try. Sometimes it seems that I should be able to reach a certain student, while at other times it seems that someone else is a much better candidate for doing so, or that the student just isn't ready to be reached.
Sometimes it seems that I should be able to teach 100% of my students a certain concept or process, and at other times it seems that I should be happy with 70 or 80%.
I know that I can't do everything; nor am I meant to be able to do so. But in some areas, it should be possible to accomplish a lot. Could you help me to discern between those two dynamics? When should I push harder because something is attainable but we're just not there yet, and when should I back off a bit because even if we push terribly hard, the goal is beyond us at the moment?
After all, I wouldn't expect to be able to swim the English Channel if I've been swimming for just three or four days. Sometimes in school we think that we should be able to do certain things just because we've done some other things, but that's not always the case.
So the bottom line is that I'd like to ask your help in making decisions about just what I'm going to do with my students, and just what I'm going to expect from them when they do what they do. Any advice that you can give would be greatly appreciated, too.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Honesty
Hello, God--
First of all, good morning--and thank you for another day in my life, and for all the things and people in that life. I really do appreciate them all.
I do have a question for you, though. It seems that as I look around me, I don't see a lot of honesty these days. I don't see all that many people who put an extremely high priority on being honest and keeping their word. In fact, it seems that more and more we see people in the public eye who are far less than honest, who are more interested in saying what they think people want to hear than they are in saying what is true and accurate.
Just yesterday, a vice-presidential candidate stopped by a soup kitchen and had pictures taken of him there in a shameless attempt at a photo opportunity--the place was closed, no one was eating there, and he hadn't even made sure it was okay with them if he showed up. He just did, and had people taking pictures of him washing dishes and such. It was a pre-fabricated lie, yet he felt that it was acceptable that he do this. And he's one of our leaders!
What's up?
A response:
Honesty always has been a problem with people who want to have what they perceive as power. Dishonesty is born of fear, and what you're seeing is people who are afraid that the truth isn't good enough, so they have to embellish it or even create their own version of truth.
I would say that someone who is so afraid of what he seems to be that he goes out of his way to create a reality that really isn't him probably would not make a very effective leader, except over those who are just as fearful as he is. But that's just a thought. Your societies will elect the leaders that seem to fit at any given time, whether or not they're qualified to lead, whether or not they're effective leaders.
When someone is dishonest, you will find the fear not very deep, up near the surface of who they are. They're feeling vulnerable, and they're feeling that if they do tell the truth, it will hurt them somehow. People will judge them as not being good enough, talented enough, not having done enough with their lives. There are people who are dishonest in malicious ways, and they use that dishonesty to try to hurt others--these are the most fearful people of all, yet their fear is so deep and so comprehensive that it has overwhelmed all their other senses and thoughts.
Dishonesty is nothing new. With today's media, though, you tend to see it more. And while one would think that the new media focus would make people more afraid to be dishonest because they can get caught so much easier, the truth is that if their fear is strong enough, they will lie with the thought that it's easier to apologize for a lie than it is to admit that they're not good enough. And that's a lie that they're telling themselves, that they're not good enough. Because you all are. All the time.
First of all, good morning--and thank you for another day in my life, and for all the things and people in that life. I really do appreciate them all.
I do have a question for you, though. It seems that as I look around me, I don't see a lot of honesty these days. I don't see all that many people who put an extremely high priority on being honest and keeping their word. In fact, it seems that more and more we see people in the public eye who are far less than honest, who are more interested in saying what they think people want to hear than they are in saying what is true and accurate.
Just yesterday, a vice-presidential candidate stopped by a soup kitchen and had pictures taken of him there in a shameless attempt at a photo opportunity--the place was closed, no one was eating there, and he hadn't even made sure it was okay with them if he showed up. He just did, and had people taking pictures of him washing dishes and such. It was a pre-fabricated lie, yet he felt that it was acceptable that he do this. And he's one of our leaders!
What's up?
A response:
Honesty always has been a problem with people who want to have what they perceive as power. Dishonesty is born of fear, and what you're seeing is people who are afraid that the truth isn't good enough, so they have to embellish it or even create their own version of truth.
I would say that someone who is so afraid of what he seems to be that he goes out of his way to create a reality that really isn't him probably would not make a very effective leader, except over those who are just as fearful as he is. But that's just a thought. Your societies will elect the leaders that seem to fit at any given time, whether or not they're qualified to lead, whether or not they're effective leaders.
When someone is dishonest, you will find the fear not very deep, up near the surface of who they are. They're feeling vulnerable, and they're feeling that if they do tell the truth, it will hurt them somehow. People will judge them as not being good enough, talented enough, not having done enough with their lives. There are people who are dishonest in malicious ways, and they use that dishonesty to try to hurt others--these are the most fearful people of all, yet their fear is so deep and so comprehensive that it has overwhelmed all their other senses and thoughts.
Dishonesty is nothing new. With today's media, though, you tend to see it more. And while one would think that the new media focus would make people more afraid to be dishonest because they can get caught so much easier, the truth is that if their fear is strong enough, they will lie with the thought that it's easier to apologize for a lie than it is to admit that they're not good enough. And that's a lie that they're telling themselves, that they're not good enough. Because you all are. All the time.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
I just want to say "thanks"
Hello, God!
I don't usually write in the afternoons, but today I just feel like it. I want to say thank you for all that we have in this world--a comfortable place to live, food to eat, rewarding and fulfilling work to do, and a future full of possibility and potential. I know that all of this comes undeserved--had I been born in a different country, at a different time, to different parents, who knows what the present would be like? I know for sure that things might be better if any of those "ifs" had come to pass, but I also know that things for me could be much, much worse.
Sometimes I wonder just why I have what I do, while others go hungry, while others go homeless. Is it luck of the draw? Is it based on decisions we made before we came here? How much do you have to do with each of our individual situations? My heart tells me that you don't do a lot of meddling in our lives, that you let us be to make our mistakes and earn our triumphs. But I have so much to be thankful for that I never have earned, and I'm just not sure how to attribute those things. And in the end, it really doesn't matter when or how they came to be, does it? What matters is that I recognize the blessings that are a part of my life and that I appreciate them, for without appreciation, they really do mean nothing.
So thank you, God, for all that is in my life. And thank you for the life that you've given me, in which I'm able to learn and grow and change and improve. This really is a beautiful world full of amazing gifts, such as the many trees that I saw today that are turning brilliant colors for the fall--what a gift those are! So thank you. Very much.
A response:
You're welcome.
I don't usually write in the afternoons, but today I just feel like it. I want to say thank you for all that we have in this world--a comfortable place to live, food to eat, rewarding and fulfilling work to do, and a future full of possibility and potential. I know that all of this comes undeserved--had I been born in a different country, at a different time, to different parents, who knows what the present would be like? I know for sure that things might be better if any of those "ifs" had come to pass, but I also know that things for me could be much, much worse.
Sometimes I wonder just why I have what I do, while others go hungry, while others go homeless. Is it luck of the draw? Is it based on decisions we made before we came here? How much do you have to do with each of our individual situations? My heart tells me that you don't do a lot of meddling in our lives, that you let us be to make our mistakes and earn our triumphs. But I have so much to be thankful for that I never have earned, and I'm just not sure how to attribute those things. And in the end, it really doesn't matter when or how they came to be, does it? What matters is that I recognize the blessings that are a part of my life and that I appreciate them, for without appreciation, they really do mean nothing.
So thank you, God, for all that is in my life. And thank you for the life that you've given me, in which I'm able to learn and grow and change and improve. This really is a beautiful world full of amazing gifts, such as the many trees that I saw today that are turning brilliant colors for the fall--what a gift those are! So thank you. Very much.
A response:
You're welcome.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Good morning!
Good morning, God! I don't want to write anything today--I just want to say hi and wish you a beautiful day--I hope that we do some things on this planet that make you feel good today!
Monday, October 8, 2012
A New Day
Good morning, God, and thank you for this new day in my life. My wife and I have just passed a beautiful weekend for our anniversary, and we really do appreciate the opportunities that we had to go up into the mountains, to go hiking, to see the changing aspen and the mountain lake that we hiked to and all the other glorious sights. It was a lovely time, and we both appreciate it very much.
But now today, it's back to work. That's not a bad thing, obviously, though sometimes it feels like it is. I often have to catch myself when I think, "Oh, no--I have to go to work today (or tomorrow)," because to be completely honest, that's not something for which "Oh, no" is appropriate. I like my work. I enjoy my time in the classroom. It's not a problem at all for me to go to work, yet sometimes I feel stress creeping up on me and making me feel that somehow the day is going to be negative or challenging or simply bad.
When this happens to me, I feel that I've been unfair to life. Life has given me a lot of very positive things, yet it's very easy for me to turn them into negatives. Why should I and how can I turn them into negatives? Why does my mind do something that's so contrary to reality? I enjoy the company of my students, and I have a very positive work environment, so why should I stress out about going to do something I enjoy doing with people with whom I enjoy being? It makes no sense.
* * *
A reply:
"It makes no sense." Couldn't you say this about many of your reactions and thoughts and feelings throughout the course of your lifetime? Many of them make no sense at all from a rational perspective, yet you have them anyway. The important thing about them, though, is that they give you a chance to see situations apart from your rational perspective, and they give your self an opportunity to react from a place other than your logical and rational mind. This doesn't always end up well--for example, when you allow your fear-based reactions to control your actions--but it does give you a chance to see that there are more ways to look at the world than with just the rational side of your mind.
Your tendency to create stress where there is none is a good example of your fear-based approach to the world. And let's face it--not all of the teaching that you've done has been in environments as positive as the one you're in now. In some of those cases, your stress was justifiable in some ways, as the environments in which you worked were far from healthy, and things didn't always go well no matter how well you did in the classroom.
But you see, you're progressing well. It used to be that you carried that stress with you all day into whatever work you were doing. Now you recognize it early and you try to banish it from your mind well before you ever get to work. That's a very good thing. Much of your stress, of course, is caused by the fear of not being well enough prepared, not by the fear of anything the students will do or won't do. So you also have that dynamic within your control. You spent yesterday preparing instead of grading, for example, which goes a long way towards helping out with today.
Much of life is about learning--about finding out things that work and things that don't, and then doing more of the former and less of the latter. You know that stress doesn't work to make your days bright and enjoyable and productive, so you've already discovered how to lessen that stress by focusing on the positive aspects of your work. And that's a very, very good thing, don't you think? So take the lessons that you need from life, and don't worry so much about whether you should or shouldn't be thinking or feeling in certain ways--look more at how you respond to those thoughts and feelings. Thoughts and feelings will arise unbidden, and the quality of your life is determined more by how you respond to them than by what they are to begin with.
But now today, it's back to work. That's not a bad thing, obviously, though sometimes it feels like it is. I often have to catch myself when I think, "Oh, no--I have to go to work today (or tomorrow)," because to be completely honest, that's not something for which "Oh, no" is appropriate. I like my work. I enjoy my time in the classroom. It's not a problem at all for me to go to work, yet sometimes I feel stress creeping up on me and making me feel that somehow the day is going to be negative or challenging or simply bad.
When this happens to me, I feel that I've been unfair to life. Life has given me a lot of very positive things, yet it's very easy for me to turn them into negatives. Why should I and how can I turn them into negatives? Why does my mind do something that's so contrary to reality? I enjoy the company of my students, and I have a very positive work environment, so why should I stress out about going to do something I enjoy doing with people with whom I enjoy being? It makes no sense.
* * *
A reply:
"It makes no sense." Couldn't you say this about many of your reactions and thoughts and feelings throughout the course of your lifetime? Many of them make no sense at all from a rational perspective, yet you have them anyway. The important thing about them, though, is that they give you a chance to see situations apart from your rational perspective, and they give your self an opportunity to react from a place other than your logical and rational mind. This doesn't always end up well--for example, when you allow your fear-based reactions to control your actions--but it does give you a chance to see that there are more ways to look at the world than with just the rational side of your mind.
Your tendency to create stress where there is none is a good example of your fear-based approach to the world. And let's face it--not all of the teaching that you've done has been in environments as positive as the one you're in now. In some of those cases, your stress was justifiable in some ways, as the environments in which you worked were far from healthy, and things didn't always go well no matter how well you did in the classroom.
But you see, you're progressing well. It used to be that you carried that stress with you all day into whatever work you were doing. Now you recognize it early and you try to banish it from your mind well before you ever get to work. That's a very good thing. Much of your stress, of course, is caused by the fear of not being well enough prepared, not by the fear of anything the students will do or won't do. So you also have that dynamic within your control. You spent yesterday preparing instead of grading, for example, which goes a long way towards helping out with today.
Much of life is about learning--about finding out things that work and things that don't, and then doing more of the former and less of the latter. You know that stress doesn't work to make your days bright and enjoyable and productive, so you've already discovered how to lessen that stress by focusing on the positive aspects of your work. And that's a very, very good thing, don't you think? So take the lessons that you need from life, and don't worry so much about whether you should or shouldn't be thinking or feeling in certain ways--look more at how you respond to those thoughts and feelings. Thoughts and feelings will arise unbidden, and the quality of your life is determined more by how you respond to them than by what they are to begin with.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Hurdles
Good morning, God, and thank you for a new day in my life. It's going to be a cold and windy day this day, and I'm looking forward to feeling the colder weather after a very hot summer.
I'd like to talk to you about the hurdles in our lives. We've just hit another one, one that hit us pretty hard in a way that we weren't expecting to get hit. We've been doing our best for so long to try to get things stabilized a bit, yet we can't seem to be able to do so. Is this instability a planned part of our lives, or is it coming to teach us valuable lessons, or is it a result of poor decisions on our part? I certainly don't believe that you send stuff like this as retribution for bad decisions that we might make, so I can't see the obstacles as originating with you--that makes no sense. So where do they come from? Why can we not make ends meet--and why can't so many other people these days? Is this some mass preparation for dealing with poverty and austerity that's coming, or is it a reminder of just how good we've had things in the past, things that we've come to take for granted? I'll bet there are tons of people who wish they could step right back into their lives of five or ten years ago, back when they had what they considered to be stability and prosperity.
So why are we being hit so hard, still, with financial obstacle after financial blow? Why can't we reach any sort of stability, no matter how hard we try? We are very fortunate because we aren't starving or living on the streets, but we're finding it very difficult to continue to be beaten down by life without seeing any real results of the efforts we make to stabilize our situation.
* * *
Good morning to you, too. It's nice to be able to hear from you first thing in the morning like this--yes, I do like hearing from you, whether it seems that way to you or not. You and I--and everyone else--have an incredible connection that most people learn early to deny and ignore, so every chance I get to have a one-on-one chat with someone is a very good, very welcome chance.
As far as what you ask is concerned, there is no pat answer for you, as I know you already know. First and most importantly, you are right in saying that there is no effort on my part to punish anyone for mistakes that they've made. I have no lightning bolts in my hand to toss down on people who do bad things, and I have no written plan that's going to guarantee someone years of poverty just for having taken for granted prosperity they might have experienced. We are all tied together, and would I shoot the foot and damage the whole body just because the foot did something "wrong"?
Your current situation is a result of a combination of factors--decisions that you've made, decisions that your wife has made, decisions that your family members have made, decisions that people you'll never know have made, decisions made by heads of corporations and people in the government. Most of those decisions you'll never be aware of, yet they do affect you greatly--and that's a part of the life you're leading. Accepting that fact is one of the keys to making that life more bearable and even enjoyable. Yes, you have made some poor decisions, but remember that what you see and experience are simply results of those decisions--not punishment or rewards.
You are doing things that will help you down the road, and your current situation has been the catalyst that has jump-started your efforts to do those things and to maximize their effects. In some ways, then, your current situation has been positive and helpful. It's also forcing you to learn a bit more about patience--even though you're already a very patient person, we all could always stand to learn a bit more about it, and put it into practice more effectively in our lives.
When things are going poorly, I find that people either give up, ask someone else to do what they should be doing, or just get out there and try to make things right. For the most part, you are being active and you are trying your best to put yourself on the track that you wish to be on, and that's a wonderful thing. It does take time, though, so please be patient. You will find that others will help you, but you must be patient so that those things have a chance to manifest themselves--and be manifested by you--in your life. We can talk more about that some other time, though!
I'd like to talk to you about the hurdles in our lives. We've just hit another one, one that hit us pretty hard in a way that we weren't expecting to get hit. We've been doing our best for so long to try to get things stabilized a bit, yet we can't seem to be able to do so. Is this instability a planned part of our lives, or is it coming to teach us valuable lessons, or is it a result of poor decisions on our part? I certainly don't believe that you send stuff like this as retribution for bad decisions that we might make, so I can't see the obstacles as originating with you--that makes no sense. So where do they come from? Why can we not make ends meet--and why can't so many other people these days? Is this some mass preparation for dealing with poverty and austerity that's coming, or is it a reminder of just how good we've had things in the past, things that we've come to take for granted? I'll bet there are tons of people who wish they could step right back into their lives of five or ten years ago, back when they had what they considered to be stability and prosperity.
So why are we being hit so hard, still, with financial obstacle after financial blow? Why can't we reach any sort of stability, no matter how hard we try? We are very fortunate because we aren't starving or living on the streets, but we're finding it very difficult to continue to be beaten down by life without seeing any real results of the efforts we make to stabilize our situation.
* * *
Good morning to you, too. It's nice to be able to hear from you first thing in the morning like this--yes, I do like hearing from you, whether it seems that way to you or not. You and I--and everyone else--have an incredible connection that most people learn early to deny and ignore, so every chance I get to have a one-on-one chat with someone is a very good, very welcome chance.
As far as what you ask is concerned, there is no pat answer for you, as I know you already know. First and most importantly, you are right in saying that there is no effort on my part to punish anyone for mistakes that they've made. I have no lightning bolts in my hand to toss down on people who do bad things, and I have no written plan that's going to guarantee someone years of poverty just for having taken for granted prosperity they might have experienced. We are all tied together, and would I shoot the foot and damage the whole body just because the foot did something "wrong"?
Your current situation is a result of a combination of factors--decisions that you've made, decisions that your wife has made, decisions that your family members have made, decisions that people you'll never know have made, decisions made by heads of corporations and people in the government. Most of those decisions you'll never be aware of, yet they do affect you greatly--and that's a part of the life you're leading. Accepting that fact is one of the keys to making that life more bearable and even enjoyable. Yes, you have made some poor decisions, but remember that what you see and experience are simply results of those decisions--not punishment or rewards.
You are doing things that will help you down the road, and your current situation has been the catalyst that has jump-started your efforts to do those things and to maximize their effects. In some ways, then, your current situation has been positive and helpful. It's also forcing you to learn a bit more about patience--even though you're already a very patient person, we all could always stand to learn a bit more about it, and put it into practice more effectively in our lives.
When things are going poorly, I find that people either give up, ask someone else to do what they should be doing, or just get out there and try to make things right. For the most part, you are being active and you are trying your best to put yourself on the track that you wish to be on, and that's a wonderful thing. It does take time, though, so please be patient. You will find that others will help you, but you must be patient so that those things have a chance to manifest themselves--and be manifested by you--in your life. We can talk more about that some other time, though!
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