The Caring Catalyst

Who Cares - What Matters

LET I T

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The     best     way     to     make

Valentine’s  Day

a

l   i   f   e   s   t   y  l  e

of   being   an   ongoing

Caring  Catalyst

is  summed  up  with

JUST    4    WORDS

l       e       t 

y        o        u        r

l           o           v           e

f              l              o              w

Remembering The FLAME

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https://youtu.be/RIUkqTq7RZQ

Have you actually ever

had  a

D     R     E     A     M

come  true?

Did it unroll before you

just as you scripted?

Was it better than you expected.       .       .

Greater than you imagined.       .       .

A Disaster ?

What would happen if

Y O U R      D R E A M

actually

emphatically

unbelievably

inevitably

came true.       .        .        ?

Would it fit under the

PHYSIC EQUATION:

FOR   EVERY   ACTION

THERE’S   A  REACTION ?

I  F

Your  every  Dream

actually came true

at what cost

would

it

be

?

Emma Stone poses these kind of questions

p       o       w       e       r       f       u       l       l       y

in her

Audition Song:

H E R E ‘ S    T O    T H E    F O O L S

from  La La Land

an Academy Award Nominated Movie

for the Best Picture of the Year

Here’s to rebels

the ripples from pebbles

The Painters

The Poets

The Plays

Here’s to the Fools who Dream

Crazy as they may seem

Here’s to the Hearts 

that Break,

Here’s to the Mess

W  E

m       a       k       e.         .         .

L          I          V          E

your life in such a way that

s      m     i     l     i     n    g

through

you’d    pledge    to     do     it

a   g   a   i   n

.            .           .a life full of dreams

realized

and not so

c  o  m  p  l  e  t  e  d.       .       .

A  Caring Catalyst Life

fulfilled

and 

intentionally

purposely

painfully

F  U  L  F  I  L  L  I  N  G

The H A N D

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I’ve got to

H      A      N      D           I      T

to you.        .        .

no pun intended!

Really.       .       .

It’s never the Hand

you’ve been dealt.          .           .

Go ahead.      .      .

finish the cliche.        .         .

it’s the way you play it!

W       R        O        N        G !

When I do my presentation:

DID YOU HEAR WHAT I DIDN’T SAY,

I always  H A N D  

everyone a card as they walk in

and then I let them choose one on their own.       .        .

Most ask,

“Am   I   allowed   to   look ?” or

“What’s  this   for ?”

Then I forget about it.         .         .

almost until the middle to end of my talk;

I tell them to take their cards and ask:

“W   H   O       W   O   N ?”

It’s amazing to me how many people

tell me that they have won and why.       .       .

.       .       .Say’s Who ?

“Why did you win?”

I  ask,

don’t we know what game we’re playing and more.         .         .

here’s the clincher:

W   H   A   T         A   R   E           T   H   E           R   U   L   E   S ?

We play

U        N        A        N        N        O        U        N        C        E        D

G a m e s

e          v          e          r          y          d          a          y

and as if that’s bad enough,

what’s worse,

we’re trying to   F  I  G  U  R  E

out the rules

let alone being willing to play by them;

Each person,

friend,

family,

stranger

deals up a set of cards for us

and the  Game  is  O N !

The most important Language you’ll ever Speak

or Hear

is the one you’ll never utter or detect by sound,

but begging to be understood.        .        .

Pssssssssst of the Day:

It’s never the Hand you’ve been dealt,

or the Hand you’ve had

or are currently holding right now.       .       .

It’s Not the Hand you’re playing—

It’s      the      Hand      you      are      Extending.         .         .

the hand you are Sharing.         .         .

the Hand you’re Giving.           .           .

and yes, most importantly,

the      Hand      you’re      holding

(THAT’S       ATTACHED       TO       ANOTHER       ARM)!

NEVER   let the hand you’re dealt

interfere with the

H  a  n  d        y  o  u        E  x  t  e  n  d.           .           .  

C L A U S ‘E D

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Sometimes.     .     .

it’s really less about the

p r o d u c t

and more about the

c      o      m      m      e      r      c      i      a      l

When’s the last time you’ve been

Mrs. Claus’ed?

Maybe the better question:

When was the last time you have been

Mrs. Claus

to someone else.   .   .    ?

You know it’s really not that hard.          .          .

See

Hear

Feel

Learn

of a need

and

M  E  E  T      I  T

It just might be one of your

greatest secrets

you can share

without

having to

w h i s p e r

H     O     W

.        .          .Get Claus’ed

and then make sure you

C       L        A        U      S

away

without

C L A U S E.        .         .

because the best way to

Celebrate

D e c e m b e r   26

is simply to treat it like

D E C E M B E R  2 5

(f o r e v e r)

Psssssssssssst of the Day:

That’s the biggest not-so-confidential

s  e  c  r  e  t

you’ll never quite be able to

hide

or

ever need to.    .    .     .

The Man on The Moon

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https://youtu.be/wuz2ILq4UeA

Are you more of a

V     E     R     B

o r    a

N     O    U    N ?

There are lots of Seasons

There are lots of comings and goings

There are lots of Beginnings and Endings

There are lots of Starts and Finishes

There are lots of things that  none  of those things can compare.        .        .

L   O   N   E   L   I   N   E   S   S

being  just  one  of  them.       .       .

Loneliness   is   the   only   season   that   lasts   all   twelve months—

no vacation or holiday.

H        O        W        E        V        E        R

I   F

Loneliness were a Disease,

YOU’D   be   the   Cure.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were a Destination,

YOU’D   be   the   Road   from   it.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were a complex Math problem,

YOU’D   be   the   Answer.       .       .

I F

Loneliness were an Ocean,

YOU’D   be   it’s   Shore.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were a a Sunset

YOU’D   be its   Sunrise.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were a Sentence

YOU’D   be   its   Reprieve.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were a Verdict

YOU’D   be   its   Appeal.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were hunger

YOU’D   be   its   Banquet.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were Thirst

YOU’D   be   its   Oasis.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were poison

YOU’D   be   its   Antidote.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were Antarctica

YOU’D   be   its   Equator.       .       .

I  F

Loneliness were a man on the moon

YOU’D   be   his   first   Visitor.       .       .

Y          O          U

are    the    Great    answer    to

 Loneliness    in    all    of    its    forms    and    guises

I  F

You’re   more   of   a

V          E           R          B

than   a

N          O          U          N

by just

 s    h    o    w    i    n    g        u   p

instead of just shaking your head and

t a l k i n g     i t     a b o u t     i t .    .    .  

The man on the moon would really like

 T       H       A       T .       .       .

people much,

m u c h  closer would, too;

Every Season should have an Ending

after it’s Beginning.       .       .

Loneliness is the one Season

you can have  Effect  of

not just ending.       .       .

but actually making it

e     x     t     i     n     c     t.      .      .

Are   you   more   of   a

V       E       R       B

or   a

N       O       U       N  ?

SOME  ONE

is looking for you to

S  H  O  W       T  H  E  M !

F       O       C       U       S

in   on

t     h     e    m .      .      .

Make half-way around the world

a

t         o        u        c        h

a              w a y

 

 

Ugly Christmas Sweater DAYS

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IMG_0220

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

By 4 Comments

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

By 2 Comments

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

By Leave a Comment

img_2262

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.       .       .

Professional Speaker, Author, Assurance Man