The Caring Catalyst

Who Cares - What Matters

Ugly Christmas Sweater DAYS

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D O     Y O U     O W N     O N E ?

An Ugly Christmas Sweater?

T                    H                    E                    Y

actually have parties with everyone wearing an Ugly Christmas Sweater.      .      .

Do  you  own  One ?

Do you feel like you’re wearing one

W  I  T  H  O  U  T     O  W  N  I  N  G    O  N  E ?

Even if we don’t own an Ugly Christmas Sweater

There are some days when it feels like we are wearing one that seems it’ll never come off:

Bad Relationships

Job Security

Ill-Health

Death

Unrest

Zero to limited Bank Accounts

Moves

Conflict

.          .          .What to do?

I often remember my student church the first year I was in Seminary.

By God,

we were going to have the first

LIVE   NATIVITY   CHRISTMAS   PAGENT

that small little Country Church had ever had.     .     .

I learned from that experience,

NEVER    TO     BRING     LIVE    FARM    ANIMALS

into the Sanctuary;

Little Lambs looks great on Christmas Cards,

but the things they left between the

PEEE-EWWWS

while they were bleeping away

are smells and stains

I don’t think they’ve yet to rid themselves of nearly 40 years later.     .     .

I’m not even going to mention the Donkey’s antics

or the calves

or the fact that the goat ate stored furniture.       .       .

It got worse still

when our third Wiseman came down with chicken-pox the night of the big show

and it’s not the same song  singing:

  “WE   TWO  KINGS  OF   ORIENT  ARE“

.       .       .It got worse before   NEVER   getting better:

We had a beautiful illuminated JESUS

in the manager who’s    LIGHT    burned out.        .        .

no problem,

I replaced it with a bulb

that turned out to be a STROBE LIGHT.        .        .

N O T H I N G   like an

ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF   ON/OFF

J       E       S       U       S

B            L            I            N            K            I            N            K

away  in  the  manger.

W E   L I V E

Ugly     Christmas     Sweaters     LIVES

and we have the same three choices I had that

bleating/blinking/too much stink for a sanctuary full of un-clogged noses/two-wiseman cursed night:

C  A  N  C  E  L       T  H  E       M  E  S  S

It always seems like one of the best of possibilities,

doesn’t it.     .     ?

Let’s just cancel this craziness;

this mess,

and cut our losses and speak of it never again.       .       .

Who would blame us when things are a disasters

and getting no better.       .       .

I mean,

when the Ugly Christmas Sweater snags—-

why fix it.        .        .?

P  R  E  T  E  N  D

I’ve long believed

that the only day we actually celebrate all 365 days is

H     A     L     L     O     W     E     E     N

We should all be nominated

and actually win the Academy Award

every year for the phenomenal acting jobs we pull off each day.     .     .

Let’s just pretend our way through our Ugly Christmas Sweater Days.       .     .

After all,

we don’t want to spoil anything for anyone,

especially during  T H E    S E A S O N.   .   .   

E     M     B     R     A     C     E             I     T

It’s like hugging a porcupine.       .       .

but why not just embrace the obvious—-

Just not  O W N.        .        .

W E A R    T H E    C H R I S T M A S    S W E A T E R

I N    S T Y L E

Endure the Stank,

Dance to the pulsating Light,

Sing the not-so-complete-song

and fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

your way to the homemade cookie and coffee cake line,

straight to the hot chocolate.      .      .

Y  O  U  R     C  H  O  I  C  E ?

UGLY  SWEATER  CHRISTMAS  DAYS

We all have them

We all live through them

We all come out the other end of

T  H  A  T

tunnel a little more disheveled, snagged, smelly, guffawed at

but–THRIVERS–ALL

There’s only one thing to do–ever–when faced with an

UGLY  CHRISTMAS  SWEATER  DAY:

S   P   O   R   T        I   T

(No   Matter   What   The   Season)

The Masterpiece in Broken Crayons

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Unknown-1

Do they?

Do Broken Crayons still draw?

Do Broken Crayons still provide Color?

Do Broken Crayons still contain Art?

You might or might not pass

“T h e    T e s t”

I have handed out crayons to kids and sometimes adults.     .     .correction,

I’ve let them choose crayons from a basket;

Some are gnarled and dull.     .     .

Some are unashamedly bare,

they’ve lost their little colored coats

or some wisps of that color clamor to stay attached.     .     .

Some of THOSE crayons have long been worn down

though they somehow remain intact.      .      .

Some of those crayons are perfectly,

never yet been used

or met their first match with with paper.      .      .

Some have long lost their top or bottom parts

and barely can still be aptly named:

“C R A Y O N S.”

Any idea what the Consensus chooses.       .       .       ?

H     I     N     T :

It’s usually

E       V       E       R       Y       T       H       I       N       G

but the seemingly useless nubs of color.     .     .

Just because

it’s been a long time since we’ve played/drawn

with a brand new box of Crayons

doesn’t mean that we still don’t wish—yearn,

W  A  N  T      that      N  E  W  N  E  S  S,

is   it?

Sadly,  sometimes,

T  H  A  T     newness keeps us from drawing,

from creating,

from using our colors at all.       .       .

Sadly.       .       .

stupid,  huh?

We can still color the Color

We can sharpen dull edges

We can create

.          .          .make white paper explode into something that’s guided by our hands;

There’s   still   Art   in   Broken   Crayons

Our Broken hearts still beat

and at times when they don’t always

boldly follow their deepest,

most passionate desire

because they are smashed,

and dulled and literally,

half of what they use to be,

then we have the awesome,

humbled opportunity to gently lead them to a new,

more   Colorful   place.

Mr. Picasso once said,

“When I don’t have Red, I use Blue!”

What about you?

 The Crayons NOT in the box are of no use to you.        .        .

the ones that are,

all or any part of them,

still have Art,

Color,

U   S   E!

A Caring Catalyst comes in all Colors.          .          .

P   R   O   V   E         I   T  !

You   are   the   only   Masterpiece   continually   created   and   better   still,

RE-created   every   day

Why are you holding out to

JUST   be a   RED   apple.

Why not a  Yellow  one?

A  Green  one?

Or  Blue?

W   H   Y        N   O   T  ?

YOU.       .       .

YOU   ARE   THE   MASTERPIECE!

Now get to it.     .     .

Get to  DRAWING  people  CLOSER  together.

Psssssst……..

That’s Art,

Pure Genius.       .       .

no matter what the Color,

In   or   Out   of   the   Box.           .           .    

All Hands ON. . .

By 2 Comments

images

The problem with

H     A     N     D     S

is not that we all have them.          .          .

it’s that they are not always joined;

Our hands   c a n

and have done so much on their own.          .          .

but when they are joined together with other hands

the imagination isn’t vast enough to comprehend

what can be accomplished;

Could have   H  A  N  D  S   joined together

stopped the tragic,

senseless violence that takes place all to often in

Anywhere, USA.         .         .         ?

P        E        R        H        A        P        S

We will never know.            .            .

but   H A N D S   joined together can go along way in

providing the

H       E       A       L       I       N       G

What to do.        .        .

Imperfect hands in an imperfect world.        .        .

S     I     M     P     L     E :

H   E   A   L        I   T !

I’m often.         .         .

too often reminded

Of the story of a Rabbi who prayed daily that God would make a perfect world in which there would be no hatred, jealousy, pain, disease, pain or problems.  One night, God appeared to the Rabbi in a dream and took him on tour of the world made perfect.  The Rabbi saw his house, his synagogue, his town.  Lions and lambs laid together.  Still, the Rabbi was troubled. . .something was missing.  “Where am I in this perfect world?” the Rabbi asked.  God offered an apologetic answer: “This is the Perfect World you requested.  You must understand that you are not perfect, so you cannot be included.”

Now, this is where

I would usually plug in some

facts,

figures,

data

scientific studies

that would prove

K       I       N       D       N       E       S       S

is not just an option

it’s a healthier life style.     .     .

but

sometimes you just don’t need a study

to tell you

what you already know.       .        .

F        A        C        T :

Terrible.         .         .

most horrible things take place in our lives and in our World

but they have no relationship on how we live our lives of

Care and Compassion.        .        .

F        A         C         T :

Expecting the World to treat us fairly

because we  are nice people

is like expecting a Bull not to gore us

just because we’re vegetarians.        .        .

F        A        C        T :

We may never be able to prevent horrible events from happening again.           .           .

but by coming together

by joining hands

by Unconditionally Caring

by Unrelentlessly being Compassionate

we lessen pain and make the World a better place

N  O      M  A  T  T  E  R     W  H  A  T

F        A        C        T :

The   Future   isn’t   a   place   we   go   to

It’s   a   Place   we   Create

F        A        C        T :

By joining hands in Care and Compassion

the Future becomes a much better

P    R    E    S    E    N    T

a more hopeful

N     O     W

Join me

p      l      e      a      s      e  

oh please oh please oh

p      l      e      a      s      e

NOT Lives Touched

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I became a part-time-on-call-Chaplain at Fairview Hospital in 1988

The hours were from 5 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. five or six days a month,

and it was usually Emergency Room cases

that had me rolling out of my warm bed

on cold winter nights to attend to those crises.     .     .

It was those catastrophes

that involved car accidents,

shootings,

heart attacks,

still births,

suicides

and some natural caused deaths.      .      .

I met and cared for many more family members

than I ever did patients in those settings and they taught be

the most important,

the most sacred,

the most intimate,

the most significant,

the most heart-wrenching,

the most profane

the most consecrated,

the most hallowed lesson

I’ve learned in all my 61  years

and had affirmed and validated countless times over since:

IT   IS   NOT   THE   LIVES 

YOU    TOUCH    THAT    MATTERS.           .           .

SO     MUCH     AS     THE

L             I             V             E             S

T   O  U  C  H  E  D

BECAUSE     OF     THOSE     YOU     FIRST     HAVE     TOUCHED !

It’s a lesson

I’ve learned

re-learned

continuing to learn

and never fully

comprehend

or 

understand.          .          .

and hopefully never will–

even with the very next life I touch

to continue the never-ending

wave.          .          .

Go ahead.           .            .

T    O    U    C    H         A         L  I  F  E

Create a Ripple–

try seeing where it ends.           .            .  

or better still.     .     .

what it starts in yet another person

Your V o t e

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The     V    O    T    E

y        o        u       r        s:

I’m not asking if you used yours

this past week.      .      .

I’m asking if you are

e          x          e          r          c          i          s          i          n          g

your  vote  at

this very moment?

I’m not asking

W      H       O

you voted for.        .        .

I’m imploring

W     H     A     T

you vote for

day by day

moment by moment?

History

was made

this past Tuesday

as America came to

v o t e

once again.       .        .

i m p r e s s i o n s

are more importantly being made

every moment

a vote

much more important than

what happens every four years

is the one

that we

m          a          k            e

countless times

a    d a y.     .     .

n           o           w ;

we are hearing

we are seeing

we are feeling

we are experiencing

a myriad of emotions

ever since

T H E     V O T E :

Grief

Anger

Shock

Fear

Disbelief

Elation

and we do what we do best

when any one of those things intrude on us:

T  U  R  N      A  W  A  Y

A  Suggestion:

Turn  Towards

I      T

D A R E.       .       .

EMBRACE   IT.     .     .

Why?

Because we can’t control the

u n c o n t r o l l a b l e.     .     .

Just because we like

fairytale like

h a p p y   e n d i n g s

seldom guarantees them;

The more sure bet guarantee is

c h a n g e

u n c e r t a i n t y.     .     .

There is brutal suffering in our world.     .     .

in  our  Nation

but there is an abundance of

C          O          M          P           A           S          S          I          O          N

to  confront that suffering.       .       .

The Buddhists

have an age old saying:

BEFORE  ENLIGHTENMENT,  CHOP  WOOD  AND  CARRY  WATER;  AFTER  ENLIGHTENMENT,  CHOP WOOD  AND  CARRY  WATER

Can you give that a  VOTE?

NO  ONE  IS  GREATER  THAN  ALL  OF  US

Can you give that a  VOTE?

LOVE  IS  THE  GREATEST  FORCE  IN  AND  OUT  OF  THIS  WORLD

Can you give that a  VOTE?

BEING  A  CARING  CATALYST  IS  A  CONSTANT  CHANGE  AGENT

Can you give that a  VOTE?

No one can ever take our  VOTE  away.       .       .

Especially

The one we choose to exercise

our

compassion

our

love

our

willingness to be open and affirming

our

openness to embrace

the uncomfortable

until it becomes

more bearable.     .     .

To  SHOW   UP

when it’s least popular

or even advantageous

Can you give that a  VOTE.       .        .

Then you’ve just

chopped a forest of wood

carried a Lake of water

and made history

that hopefully gets

r e p e a t e d

endlessly.     .     .

Can  you  give  that  a   VOTE?

L O V E

is

L O V E

Right Side UP

and maybe more especially

 UP  Side  down.        .        .

W i l l    you  give  that  a   VOTE ?

Congratulations on a Campaign well run

an Election well won

.        .         .now   l e a d

where aimless haven’t followed

and followers haven’t yet gone.       .       .

MAGIC SHIRTS

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I’ve   been   a

f          a          t          h          e          r

for some thirty-seven years

a    n   d

my kids have made me a lot of things

over those years

but aside from making me their

 d          a           d

they   really   made   me   a   great

s        t        o        r        y  –  t        e        l        l        e        r

They would be

stories of encouragement

stories of hope

stories of motivation

stories of life

stories of living

but most of all

stories of the

u  n  c  o  n  d  i  t  i  o  n  a  l      l o v e

I’ve always had for them

and hopefully never made them

d       o       u       b       t

THIS     IS    US

is a new NBC tv Series

that began this year

and it not only talks about

conventional life

but conventional

family life.     .     .

I hate

to this day

when any of my kids

or grandchildren

h          u          r          t

and would do anything

to make it evaporate

or

TELL     IT    AWAY

Like this scene

or more

just  by

s     h     o      w      i     n     g          u     p.        .        .

s              h              a              r              i              n              g   

t h e     h  u r t.      .       .

until the tears dried

or were replaced by even a

h a l f – s m i l e.     .     .

I could do that

with trips to the Mall

A movie with

the extra-big bucket of buttered popcorn

and their own Big Pop

A bag full of penny-candy

A play-ground run

A day at an amusement park

one-on-one dates to Bob Evans

or Caribou Coffee

or a well-timed  s t o r y:

M       A       G       I       C       A       L

So

what’s

your

go  to

s       t       o       r       y  ?

Your Cellular Level

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unknown

What’s Greater.        .        .        ?

An  Academy Award.      .       .

An Olympic Medal.        .       .

A Nobel Prize.            .           .

A  Single  Cell  of  Compassion.             .               .              ?

Japan-born scientist, Yoshinori  Ohsumi

has recently been named as one of the newest

Nobel Prize Winners.     .     .

Ohsumi illuminated a cellular process called,

A  U  T  O  P  H  A  G  Y

or

S E L F – E A T I N G

in which cells

take unneeded or damaging material

including entire

o r a n g e l l e s

and transport them to a

recycling compartment

of sorts–

in yeast cells,

this compartment is called

the  lisosome,

while  vacuoles 

serve a similar purpose in

h u m a n    c e l l s.     .     .

and   this   means   what   to   us.       .       .        ?

Ohsumi figured out a way to observe the inner workings of yeast cells and reveal autophagy inside of them.  He went even further to identify the genes involved in yeast autophagy and to show that similar self-eating mechanisms occur inside human cells.  His discoveries in the 1990’s led to a new understanding of how the cell recycles its contents, opening up a window into the importance of autophagy to several physiological processes and even to understanding certain diseases.  Mutations in autophagy have been linked to diseases such as cancer and neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease.        .        .        .

and     this     means     what     to     us.       .       .       ?

On a cellular level.     .     .

at    o u r   core

both animals and human beings

have what Dacher Keltner

at the University of California, Berkley,

coins a

compassionate  instinct.        .        .

we are wired for kindness and compassion.       .       .

Compassion is a

natural  and   a u t o m a t i c 

response

that   has   ensured   our   survival.       .       .

Mr Darwin’s message

was not the

survival  of  the  fittest

but rather

s  u  r  v  i  v  a  l        o  f        t  h  e        k  i  n  d  e  s  t

because we need

each   other’s   support

and  care  to  survive  as  a  species.        .        .

Being   a   Caring  Catalyst

is  who  we  can’t  help

but  to  be

but we can

h e l p

it   more.       .       .

and   t h a t

goes way.       .       .w   a   y

deeper   than  a

c e l l u l a r     l  e  v  e  l.        .         .

What’s  Greater.     .     .     ?

An Academy Award.     .     .

An Olympic Medal.     .     .

A Nobel Prize.         .         .

A  Single-Cell of Compassion.     .     .

or    y   o   u   r  

 Single-Cell of contagious Kindness.     .     .

B       E       T             Y       O        U       R              L     I     F     E  

on

I    T

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)

And the Most COMPASSIONIST

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2936021.large

WHAT GET’S IT FOR YOU?

A Movie?

A News Story?

A Song?

A First Act of Witnessed Kindness?

A Rags to Riches Story?

W H A T    G E T S    I T    F O R    Y    O    U ?

What Stomps on your

C O M P A S S I O N     B U T T O N

Like an Elephant’s Foot on Your Aorta?

Is it because you are

Religious

Spiritual

Agnostic

Atheist

+    *    ?

You may not really like this. . .

but when it comes to

C     O     M     P     A     S     S    I    O     N  

uhhhh.      .     .

the more

R      e      L      i      G      i      O      u      S

the less

compassionate.

 LOVE THY NEIGHBOR

turns out to be   less   of a thing for

The Religious

than

 The Less Religious

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley suggests that the highly religious are less motivated by compassion when helping a stranger than are atheists, agnostics and less religious people.

In three separate experiments, social scientists found that compassion consistently drove less religious people to be more generous.  For highly religious people, however, compassion was largely unrelated to how generous they were, according to the findings which were published in the July issue of the Journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science

Obviously, these results challenge a widespread assumption that acts of generosity are largely driven by feelings of empathy and compassion, researchers said.  In the study, the link between compassion and generosity was found to be stronger for those who identified as being non-religious or less religious.

“Overall, we find that for less religious people, the strength of their emotional connection to another person is critical to whether they will help that person or not,” said UC Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, a co-author of the study.  “The more religious, on the other hand, may ground their generosity less in emotion, and more in other factors such as doctrine, a communal identity, or reputational concerns.”

COMPASSION is defined in the study as an emotion felt when people see the suffering of others which then motivates them to help, often at a personal risk or cost.

Y’ O U C H

Now. . .seat belts fastened, please. . .

Professor Willer concludes:

“Overall, this research suggests that although less religious people tend to be less trusted in the U.S., when feeling compassionate, they may actually be more inclined to help their fellow citizens than the more religious. . . .”                      

 (More information: Social Psychological and Personality Science April 26, 2012 doi: 10.1177/1948550612444137)

THE   TAKE ?

It’s    N     O     T

to become

Less Religious

or

More Religious.    .    .

Uhhhhh, how about just simply

to become

more COMPASSIONATE

no matter what!

Borders are overflowing with refugees not so much in search of land than an open heart

Diseases aren’t seeking cures more than open acceptance

Hands are outreaching not so much for food or money so much as returning outstretched hands

The  WHOLE   WORLD

is turning.     .     .running the other way

THE COMPLETING COMPASSIONATE

are SPRINTING

towards the unfavored

.    .    .which DIRECTION

are you

j  e  t  t  i  n  g  ?

The GREATEST

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You’ll have to forgive me.   .   .

in fact, you might want to skip this all together.     .     .

it’s a long clip

and I wouldn’t be blame you if you didn’t watch this 11 minute clip of

Billy Crystal’s famous

15  ROUNDS

depicting the life of Muhammad Ali

on his 5oth Birthday.

He died the other day some 24 years later.

I’ve been a life-long fan of Ali

and met him one time

at the JACK CASINO

when it was then Higbee’s in 1988

Ali was promoting his new cologne,

A   L  I

I bought a bottle so I didn’t have to stand in a longer line of those

who didn’t buy a bottle of his cologne but still wanted to meet him.

He was up on a small stage that looked like an open end

of a boxing ring.

I didn’t know if it was the

Legend or the Man

that loomed so large in front of me.

He shook my hand with his

huge baseball mit of a hand

and asked me,

“WHAT  DO  YOU  DO?”

I told him I was a minister.   .   .

“So am I,” he said.   .   .

“We both call our God’s by different names, but

H E     I S    O U R    G O D”

We locked eyes for a brief moment

and I muttered out,

“Thanks, Champ.”

No.   .   .

it wasn’t

The   G R E A T E S T

moment in my life

but it was a special one.

Ali’s truest fragrance wasn’t ever what he did in the ring

so much as what he did outside of the ring

being the truest kind of

Caring Catalyst

Who Cares

What Matters

.     .     . not for a profession

or a religious group

but  for

o     t     h     e     r     s

which is the best

r e l i g i o n

of  all.

I’ll  miss  him

but will not grieve

what he’s done

or what will continue

because he made an all too brief visit

through the world

and made it a little better. . .

and inspired many

to do the same.      .      .

“I’ve  made  my  share  of  mistakes  along  the  way,  but  if  I  have  changed  even  one  life  for  the better,  I  haven’t  lived  in  vain.”                                                                                                                                                                                                           –Muhammad Ali

Professional Speaker, Author, Assurance Man