The Caring Catalyst

Who Cares - What Matters

Your Olympic Moment

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Abbey D’Agostino and Nikki Hamblin gave us quite the Olympic Moment

Your Olympic Moment.      .      .

has it happened already

or just merely

inspired?

It takes a long time to get from one Olympic to another.     .     .

for most, it’ll never be a reality;

The next one will be

F O U R     Y E A R S

from now in

Tokyo

but some Olympics moment are never ending.      .      .

so are some of our day to day moments;

We are all running a most difficult

R       A       C       E

One that seems to go

on and on and on and on and on and on

with no seeming

F  I  N  I  S  H       L   I   N   E

in sight

and then you see.     .      .

you   e x p e r i e n c e

something much greater

than some ending point.     .     .

you  feel  the  greatness  that  can  only  come  from  within

but  always

e      m     a      n     a      t      e     s

o u t w a r d

u   p   w   a   r   d.     .      .

We stumble

We fall

We trip up

We get hurt

We get disappointed

We feel discouraged

d     e     f     e     a     t     e     d

and just when the race

feels hopelessly lost

another event starts

that knows

N  O

L     O     S     E     R     S

e     v     e     r.      .      .

In our long journey to the

Finish  Line

with the unceasingly

ever-running

have-got-to-beat

c       l       o       c       k

there’s  a  speckle  of

t  r  u  t  h

that makes the

D  E  F  E  A  T  E  D

U  N  D  E  F  E  A  T  A  B  L  E :

WHEN    YOU    HAVE    A    CHANCE    TO    BE 

RIGHT   OR   KIND

B  E       K  I  N  D

and  watch  the

Finish  Line

not only vanish.      .      .

but become something so very, very much more!

https://youtu.be/z5-fQ2Qda5U

The ROUGH Side of the Sheets

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IMG_2008

There’s a few guarantees in life that are not all that

P     L     E     A     S     A     N      T

Here’s one:

The Other Side of the Sheets are Always

R o u g h e r

 S c r a t c h i e r

More   A  b  r  a  s  i  v  e.      .      .

N  O  T      C  O  M  F  O  R  T  A  B  L  E

In  3 7 5  days

a lot can happen;

much can happen in

3 7 5  s e c o n d s

or blinks of an eye.     .     .

3   7  5

days ago my wife Erin had

Five back to back to back to back to back

s e i z u r e s;

after five  days of testing,

some of it, very painful

we were sent home

with a not so firm diagnosis of

viral meningitis.  .   .

but after a year of recovering

r  e  c  o  u  p  i  n  g

and still having on/off

f o c a l   s e i z u r e s

we spent another short week at

The Epilepsy Lab

at the Cleveland Clinic

and now have a firm diagnosis of

Left Temporal Epilepsy;

most likely managed with

the      right     medications

which may take some tinkerings

that finds us on the

r  o  u  g  h

s c r a t c h y

a b r a s i v e

n o t    c o m f o r t a b l e

O T H E R     S I D E     O F     T H E     S H E E T S

There have been plenty of studies done about

how miserable

The Other Side of the Sheets

can actually be

for those who spend most of their time on

the more comfortable

more familiar

less irritating

BEST    SIDE    OF    THE    SHEETS

of  Caregiving:

W E     D O N ‘ T     L I K E     I T !

There’s a Universe of Difference between

C   A   R   E   G   I   V   I   N   G

and

C   A   R   E   G   E   T   T   I   N   G,

But   T H E     L E S S O N

is invaluable for either side of the Sheets:

YOUR   SUFFERING

is

MY     SUFFERING

and

MY     SUFFERING

is

YOUR     SUFFERING

and no matter how rumpled the sheets

either side.     .     .

we can all do our part

to make sure they are a lot

 s    m    o    o    t    h    e    r.        .        .

adding a little compassionate care

is the softener

necessary to make

both sides of the sheets

h       e       a       l     i       n       g;

.        .        .now  pass  me  the  pillow  case,

p l e a s e,

I T      C A N      A L W A Y S      A      L I T T L E      M O R E      C O M F Y

R E M E M B E R i n g

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IMG_1848

To the Living

I am Gone

To the Sorrowful

I’ll never return

To the Angry

I was cheated

To the Faithful

I’ve never left

I can’t be seen

but I can still hear

I can’t speak

but I can still listen

so the next time you stand on a shore gazing at a beautiful sea

or look upon flowers to admire their simplicity

R E M E M B E R     M E

in your heart

of the times we fought

the times we cried

the times we laughed

the times we loved

Because if you always think of me

I  WILL  HAVE  NEVER  GONE

When do words become more than words?

.      .      .when they become

a       c       t       i       o       n     s

DAVE & BUSTERS

in Westlake, Ohio

did just that

a couple of weeks ago.

Two of their employees have recently died.

T H E Y

sent condolences.

T H E Y

sent flowers.

T H E Y

bought two benches

with the individuals names and very special sentiments on them

and put them in a very nice garden area right in front of their entrance

T H E Y

invited the members of their families

and their employees to come to

A Celebration Service

in their honors

before work

to  REMEMBER

“Anytime we come together to remember, it’s never long enough. . . “

I began

“It could be around a holiday table

It could be outback at a family reunion

It could be on a sunny morning before work, like this

but anytime we come together to remember–

it’s never long enough.   .   .    .”

“.     .     .but you haven’t come here to remember, have you?  

You’ve come here to be powerfully reminded that you haven’t come here to begin

only continue the celebrations of these two lives

in your lives

for the rest of your lives.  .  .  .”

and then I asked one of the most powerful

ever hard to answer question

that could ever be asked at

any Celebration service:

“WHAT’S   YOUR  FAVORITE  STORY?”

And then the stories of these two lives,

i n t e r m i n g l i n g l y

and were told

RE-MEMBERED

Put back together again

one after another

intermixed with tears

and laughter

and smiles

I reminded them:

“IT’S    NOT   ONE   THING”

.     .     .that the cliche

A  PICTURE  IS  WORTH  A  THOUSAND  WORDS

is   a    l i e

a million, maybe, but not a mere 1000.

I reminded them:

“BUT   YOU   DON’T   NEED   A   PHOTOGRAPH,   DO   YOU ?

I just need to say their names.    .    .

and it’s not a moment

it’s not a memory

it’s not an event

or an occasion

it’s a cascade of all of those things

water falling down over them

shouting for their attention.

DAVE & BUSTER’S

made sure

to show these families and friends

that the only thing more powerful than memories

is the love that makes them

everything they were

everything they are

everything they will forever be

by bringing people together

and making ongoing

new  memories

in the names

of those

we came

to celebrate.  .   .

and what better way to do that?

What Else?

A  BRUNCH!

DAVE & BUSTER’S

are Caring Catalyst’s

Who Cares

What Matters

by showing as long as we think of

T   H  E  M

T   H  E  Y

are never gone

G L O R I O U S

By Leave a Comment

Sometimes you go to Church

without ever actually going

T     H     E     R     E

(and those are the most holy of times)

There are times when

You might feel aimless

And can’t see the places

Where you belong

But you will find that

There is a a purpose

It’s been there within you

All along

And when you’re near it

You can almost heart it

It’s like a symphony

Just keep listening

And pretty soon you’ll start

To figure out your part

Everyone plays a piece

And there are melodies

In each one of us

Ohhhhh it’s   G L O R I O U S

And you will know how

To let it ring out

As you discover

Who you are

Others around you

Will start to wake up

To the sounds that are

In their hearts

It’s so amazing

What we’re all creating

It’s like a Symphony

Just keep listening

And pretty soon you’ll start

To figure out your part

Everyone plays a piece

And there are melodies

in each one of us

Ohhhhh it’s  G L O R I O U S

And as you feel

The notes built

H I G H E R

You will see

It’s like a Symphony

Just keep listening

And pretty soon you’ll start

To figure out your part

Everyone plays a piece

And there are melodies

In each one of us

Ohhhhh it’s  G L O R I O U S

Sometimes you go to Church

without stepping into the front door

of even the most magnificent of

all sanctuaries.       .       .

on a brand new,

f   r  e  s  h

Monday Morning.          .          .

B E

T  H  A  T

S          A          N          C          T          U          A          R          Y

that simply

a  c  c  e  n  t  u  a  t  e  s 

another’s part

in the

s     y     m     p     h     o     n     y

and listen to how it

plays

inspires

motivates

new notes in you

that have yet to be

c     o     n     d     u     c     t     e     d

I  T ‘ S      

G     L     O     R     I     O     U     S

C L A U S E D

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images-3

Have you ever turned a corner

and run into  him  face to face?

Would you be surprised?

Shocked?

Doubting?

Too old to even imagine it?

It happened.     .      .

to Max

a four year old

in church

who never saw   him   coming

and now will never forget that   he   did

Max was the only little kid in Church

last Sunday when we were celebrating

C H R I S T M A S        I N       J U L Y

He came forward to the congregation’s singing

J E S U S      L O V E S     M E

I asked him if he’d be surprised if Santa Claus

would actually be in church today.

Max agreed that he would

with a sigh and a face full of doubt

at the silly question.

I asked him to turn around

to see who was sitting in the back row.

It   was  Santa

in white pants

and a loud flowered print shirt

with a picture of a surfing Santa on the front.

The look on young Max’s face

couldn’t be painted or replicated

with shock and surprise.

Max excitedly said,

“I’ve  never  seen  Santa  in  the  day  time.  .  .  “

I asked Santa to come forward

(mind you, this was all impromptu)

and when he did,

he made a little boy’s heart

and the rest of all of us instantly transformed

little boys and little girls

h e a r t s

beat forever differently.

He told Max how glad he had come to Church

and how happy he was to see him.

He asked Max if was being a good boy

and like little marionettes

we all instinctively moved our heads

young and old

up and down

into a

Y          E          S

After he magically pulled a

C a n d y      C a n e

from his pocket

for Max

and.          .          .M  E

he picked up young Max

and gave him a hug

that  we   all   felt.

Have you been

C     L     A     U     S     E     D

It truly made for one memorable

C H R I S T M A S     I N     J U L Y

none of us that

overly warm, humid Sunday

will soon forget

and maybe

even sooner still—

will unforgettably share

as it was so

awesomely

shared with us

It  put  the

F  A

in all of our

L  A ‘s

(not always such an easy feat at Christmas or Christmas in July)

Ho.          .          .

Ho.          .          .

H   O

m   e   r   r   y       c   h   r   i   s   t   m   a   s   

MUDDERS

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images

It was a Sunday morning.      .      .

more Sunday’s ago than I can actually calculate

but I was in college and tired of studying.   .   .

It was raining

and so I took the car when I normally would have walked the

few blocks to a Church

that was getting built next door to an old city mansion

where the Church

was now meeting until the building was completed.

The Parking Lot.      .      .

more   of   a   muddy   field   was

u     n     m     a     n     e     u     v     e     r     a     b     l     e 

My first mistake

was that I actually tried getting out of the car

I sunk to my ankles in cold, wet mud

There were about a dozen men and a few woman standing on the porch

watching me

s    i    n   k

and then push my

car

It took a while

NO          O N E          H E L P E D

or even yelled to offer.

I fell several times

and my clothes and shoes were more mud than cloth and leather.

I     made     it

In college,

I lived with my grandmother’s;

when she saw me and my mud covered car

she fumed

as I told her the story

and began stripping out of my mud caked clothes.

I’ll never forget what she said

after calling

the good Church folk

some not so kindly

Church folk names:

“Those bunch of hypocrites.  .  .that’s exactly why I don’t go to Church.   .   .”

I yelled over my shoulder as I was going down the basement steps to the Washer:

“and that’s exactly why I want to serve One.   .   .”

Since   t h a t   I can’t count

the times I’ve found myself in

one muddy field

after another

pushing

struggling

cursing

my way through

I don’t notice so much anymore

just who’s watching

who’s noticing

who’s just passively

observing

or actually turning the other way.

Sometimes

in all of that Mud

it’s even harder to figure out

really where I want

really what I want to

 b     e  ?

And I can’t fathom

this   is   where   I   was   meant  to  be

here

now

again

in the mud

in the not so pretty

in the not so acceptable

in  the  not  so  easy  to  get  completely  clean  place.    .    .

And then

Sometimes, because it seems

like it happens in

blink-of-the-eye-quickness

I go from one

muddy place

to another

without having the opportunity

to even sprinkle off

A N D     T H A T ‘ S      W H E N      I T     H I T S      M E

I am at

my absolute best

WHEN   I   AM   AT   MY    MUDDIEST;

My Best

When I’m at my most uncleanest;

When I’m at my most Soiled-est;

When I’m at my most filthiest;

When I’m at my most dingiest;

When I’m at my most foulest;

because that’s where

the most people reside

right there

right there in the mud

pushing

struggling

cursing

their ways, too

It’s not so much that we help each other as it is

that we

N     O     T     I     C     E

R     E     C     O     G     N     I      Z     E

don’t turn away from

s          e          e           i          n          g

We        are       not       alone

We     are

M          U          D          D          E          R          S

one

and

all

in   need   of   a   shower

and   finding

barely   a   random

s       p       r       i       n       k       l       e

    y e t      being

g       r       a       t       e       f       u       l

just the same.     .     .     .

The E Word

By 2 Comments

images

Do you pass the

E

T       E       S       T

Are   Y O U :

Finding Public Places Stressful

Needing Alone Time

Discovering Clutter as Catastrophic

Labeled as Moody

Enjoying Daydreaming

A Knowledge Seeker

A Free Spirit

Seeing that Rules and Routine are Torturous 

Easily Bored and Distracted

A Creative Force

Battling Fatigue

Being a Human Lie Detector

Having an Addictive Personality

Well did you pass the

E

T        E        S        T  ?

Do you have one or more of these

t          r          a          i          t          s  ?

You know what it means?

You could be a very

dangerous

hopeless

impossibly irreconcilable

true-blooded

E       M       P       A       T       H       E       T       I       C

p e r s o n

It’s more than just a word,

isn’t  it:

E          M          P          A          T          H          Y

The word is everywhere these days, isn’t it

but not as

the   v e r b

we all desperately need.

To be empathetic

is the ability to put yourself into another’s shoes

with the simple goal to just

understand their feelings.     .     .

so are you a highly empathetic person;

Do you have those traits?

Some would actually say

t h o s e     t r a i t s

aren’t all that

admirable

Studies and Researchers say

approximately

T  W  E  N  T  Y       P E R C E N T

of the population are

highly empathetic people;

Caring Catalysts

Kind of makes

the

80/20

rule

u  n – r  u  l  y

 Maybe   that’s   the best definition of   EMPATHY

Webster’s

has yet to

d e f i n e

  WHAT     SAY     YOU ?

IMMUNITY FROM TOUGH TIMES

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I      M      M      U      N      E

It’s a beautiful word

and an even better

c o n c e p t

but it doesn’t exist in

our  lives

when it comes to

T     O    U    G    H         T    I    M    E    S

It was shortly after being ordained in 1980

at my first church in Beech Bottom, WV

that I learned

“that behind every door there is a pain so deep, it can’t be spoken”

If tough times are

the given

the guarantee

the reality

then

so are the remedies

H               E               N               C               E   

the little clip above

that’s been traveling the

internet and Facebook quite a bit

But what’s your

G   O      T  O

A    M    E    N    D

when you go through the inevitable

T  O U G H     T I M E ?

Is it

T H A T  everything will change

T H A T  you’ve overcome challenges before

T H A T  it’s just another learning experience

T H A T  not necessarily getting what you want may be a blessing

T H A T  you should allow yourself some fun

T H A T  being kind to yourself is sometimes the best medicine

T H A T  others people’s negativity isn’t worth the worrying

T H A T  you have lots of strength as a person

T H A T  anything is possible

T H A T  great things take time

T H A T  there’s always, ALL-WAYS something to be grateful

T H A T  you drink, use, abuse.   .    .

T H A T  you pour yourself into

work,

relationships,

kindnesses

T H A T  you look the other way

T H A T  you pretend

Y O U      A R E      I M M U N E

“Behind every door there’s a pain so deep it can’t be spoke”

but it can be

s u r v i v e d

and by being a

C A R I N G      C A T A L Y S T

e v e n

T             H             R             I             V             E            D

Troubled Soul

join this

Troubled Soul

Join Me

the train doesn’t ride on the track any smoother

but it rides better

F    U    L    L

The Broken Record

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images-3

Break any Records, lately.  .  .  ?

According to wire service reports, a New York man has set a record for the most records in

The Guinness Book of World Records

His name is Ashrita Furman, and he is the first person to hold 100 Records at the same time!

Quite a feat, huh?

His Records include a mass poetry reading of the poem

“PRECIOUS”

in a 111 languages,

27,000 jumping jacks in five hours,

Eating 38 M&Ms with chopsticks in one minute. . .

Furman has held 234 total Records, but many have been broken.

He is quoted saying,

“I believe we all have an inner strength that we very rarely use.”

(IS   THAT   RINGING   ANY   BELLS   IN   YOUR   HEAD?. . .FLYING ANY FLAGS UP YOUR POLE?)

He also said,

“I just love the challenge of trying to be the best in the World in something.”

Now it’s true,

we might not have this tremendous yearning to be

THE    BEST

at something. . .

rather than to simply

DOING      OUR      BEST,

we would all probably agree that we have an inner strength we rarely use, though, huh?

So when it comes to

B  R  E  A  K  I  N  G       R  E  C  O  R  D S

maybe the

BROKEN RECORD

that needs dumped is the one that plays over and over and over again and again and again that has that annoying scratch

S             C             R            E             E             C             H             I            N             G

“YOU

ARE

NOT

GOOD

ENOUGH !”

Pssssssssssst:

UN-ACCEPTED   SELVES

UN-ACCEPT   OTHERS

until that

BROKEN RECORD

is ditched.

Lesson of the Day:

Once the Trash is taken to the Curb, Never bring it back into the HOUSE–E V E R !

(Break me THAT record, Batman)

M A D E U P

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Last week my granddaughter,

Stella

was so impressed with the YouTube video above

that she had to show it to me.

Is it the best YouTube video ever shown?

Is it Flawless?

Is it too long?

Does it

S       P       E       A       K

to  you?

What does it

S          H          O          U          T

what does it

w h i s p e r ?

Maybe the easiest question to ever answer

is also one of the most difficult to ever ask:

ARE     YOU     MADE     UP ?

What burns

What Scars

What Imperfections

What Flaws

What Defect

What Imperfectedness

What Blemish

are you covering?

Psssssssssst:

Most of the things we cover up

are way more than

s k i n     d e e p

M O S T

never have the eyes to see the mar

of others

that they can’t miss

in themselves

The Cure?

It’s not make up

It’s not Creams

It’s not Masks

It’s not Plastic Surgery

It’s not Corrective Eye Surgery

It’s

A     C     C     E     P     T     A     N     C     E

A  strong dose of  Acceptance

It’s well documented

and known

that caring for ourselves is

key to caring

for others.

GET PAST  THE  REFLECTION

the  LOOKING  GLASS

Mirror,

Mirror,

OFF     THE     WALL

What’s   Inside

Reflects

It

A   L   L

Hmmmmmmmmm  of  the  DAY:

That  ain’t    MADE    UP 

In fact,

It may be the Greatest

I      N      D      E      P      E      N      D      E      N      C      E              D      A      Y

you’ll ever celebrate!

Professional Speaker, Author, Assurance Man