The Caring Catalyst

Who Cares - What Matters

HARDWIRING HAPPINESS

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It’s always one of the most important questions.          .        .

but not as important as

T H E    A N S W E R:

A   R   E        Y   O   U       H   A   P   P   Y

Seriously.          .         .

ARE  YOU MORE

 Eeyore or Pooh.       .       .

 Rocky or Mr T

 Beauty or The Beast

Cop or Robber

Sweet or Sour

Hot or Mild

Mountain or Valley

It seems, doesn’t it

that at times we have a fantastic pull

to ignore the good in life

and focus instead on the bad.          .          .

E  N  T  E  R       R  I  C  K       H A N S O N

He’s a psychologist who wrote a book a few years ago:

HARDWIRING  HAPPINESS

His   main   thesis   is   this:

Humans’ hardwired tendency is to go negative.  It’s whats allowed our ancestors to survive.  And for depression-prone folks, this proclivity to see the glass half empty is even worse.  To mitigate that negativity  bias, we need to “RE-WIRE” our brains for resilience and happiness.  You do this by taking a few seconds throughout the day to think about and really soak in the good stuff you have going in your life.  It’s basically a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, but it’s incredibly easy to do and the results are powerful.     .     .     .

It’s tough being a Caring Catalyst 

but it’s not always the achieving or the maintaining of being

a Caring Catalyst 

that’s  so  important

so much as the attempt

so much as the intention

so much as the overall consistency

that’s significant.          .           .

So even when you’re feeling more like Eeyore

P   O   O   H        U   P

and realize that even on Cloudy

OVER CAST DAYS

the Sun still shines

.          .          .especially if you let it shine through you;

THINK   ON   THAT

DOING WHAT YOU LOVE

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R  U  T      R  H  O

 Do What You Love?

Or, Love What You Do?

David Sturt and Todd Nordstrom , CONTRIBUTOR Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own, reported back on March 13, 2015 some pretty eye-opening stuff all of us who hold burning candles at both ends and in the middle 
NEED   TO   TAKE   NOTICE

Since some of the earliest writings from the world’s most prolific thought leaders the notion of doing what you love (seeking a career that fills you with passion) has been discussed at length. But with current research showing how many people are disengaged, dissatisfied, and frustrated at work, we wondered is it possible to flip the words—is it possible to simply love what you do—your current job?

Q        U        I        C        K:

ARE   YOU   LOVING   WHAT   YOU   ARE   DOING 

RIGHT  HERE

RIGHT  NOW

ON  APRIL 11, 2018.          .          .?

Finding a job you love is age-old advice. Confucius probably has the best longstanding quote about “do what you love.” His words, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life,” have been repeated throughout history. Or consider Warren Buffett’s words, “Take a job that you love.” And let’s not forget the prolific thoughts of Maya Angelou who said “…pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”

Does anyone advocate the opposite approach—telling people to love what they do? We did not have to look far to find the advice of Steve Jobs who said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

Image courtesy of shutterstock.com

 Curious about our own experiences in the workplace, we began reviewing previous job titles we have had over the years. Between the two of us, we’ve held titles like: fire inspector, market research manager, disk jockey, product development director, wind surfing instructor, creative director, and the list goes on. As we discussed our roles, we couldn’t help but talk about the positions we loved, and those we knew weren’t the perfect fit. And apart from one position (we won’t admit who it was) of company mascot, which consisted of wearing a fuzzy cow suit and dancing down parade routes in the middle of summer, we loved each of the jobs we had (the cow suit was extremely hot, it was ridiculous, but pardon the pun, ‘Holy cow it was fun’).

Are we typical of most workers? Science actually gives us some insight.

The “find a job you love” advice listed above is easy to buy into for those who love their jobs. But for those who still don’t love their work, should they quit their current job and chase the dream of the job they would love? Or can people learn to find meaning and success in their current job? The answer is ‘yes.’ And here’s why.

Kind of makes
Burning the Candle at both ends and in the middle
take another a whole different perspective
ESPECIALLY  WHEN  YOU  KNOW
THE   SOURCE

The Guest Lecturer

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It was an early Saturday morning

at Ames Family Hospice House

an Inpatient Unit for

Hospice   of   Western   Reserve;

I was meeting a group of under graduate students from

Case Western Reserve University

to talk with them about

End of Life Issues

Death/Dying

and what Hospice means

and could mean for them in their life times.

It’s a tour I have conducted with Dr. Maryjo Prince-Paul,

their Professor for the last three years,

an excellent Educator/Informer

A former Certified Hospice Nurse

and an even better Friend.        .         .

I had just began talking with the students

having asking them to tell me

Their names

Their majors

Their Reason for taking this class;

Dr Prince-Paul asked me to share a few

Hospice Stories

of which I have a Memory Field of them:

Sad

Happy

Near-death experiences

Spiritual and Emotional

and all of the Psycho-Social dynamics

intermeshed into the fabric of these

death and dying issues.          .          .

I noticed as I was talking to these students

before the tour of the facility

a man walked into the back of the community living room

we had gathered

and sat, drinking his coffee;

THEN IT HAPPENED.          .          .

I asked the students if they had any questions

and Dr. Prince-Paul if she had any further comments

before we began the tour

and this brother of a patient at the inpatient Unit

stood with his hand raised and asked if he could make a comment;

Out all the tours and talks I had ever presented since beginning my

Hospice career in 1994,

this had never happened.          .            .

He began with:

“LISTEN   TO   WHAT   THIS   MAN   IS   TELLING   YOU”

He continued by stating that he has seen death up close and personal

having served three tours in Vietnam

but seeing his younger brother dying of brain cancer

was an indescribable tour he’d never thought he’d have to journey;

he went on the praise

without urging/prompting

what an unbelievable healing experience this had been for he

and his other family members

who no longer could effectively take care of his brother

like the inpatient unit was now doing;

most valuably allowing them to be

FAMILY MEMBERS

to their brother, the patient

instead of Caregivers.

After speaking for nearly ten minutes

of which he had a very engaged and captive audience,

Dr Prince-Paul asked him his name:

“J o h n”

He apologized for  ‘butting’  in;

but we thanked him for

TEACHING   US   ALL

what a lecture

what a book

what a class

what a measly tour

could never promise

or deliver:

AUTHENTIC,     HONEST,     HEARTFELT,    MEANINGFUL

T E S T I M O N Y

J o h n

spoke from his heart

and we each heard with ours.        .        .

I couldn’t have hit a secret remote control button

that could have made it any more timely;

that could have made it any more significant.          .          .

My take away

no doubt was different than the students

that gathered together on that early Saturday morning.             .           .

As a veteran hospice employee

he taught me out of our vast resources

and our willingness to use and

our expertise to implement them

It’s not that it’s NOT

Music Therapy

It’s not that it’s NOT

Art Therapy

It’s not that it’s NOT

Our Particular Sounds

It’s not that it’s not our Surroundings and Perspectives

And not even so much as the Story

that needs Sharing

still untold/unwritten

So much as a Willingness

to give that VOICE

An open Ear

A       P L A T F O R M.          .          .

To be A Caring Catalyst

is  to  be  the  Hearer  of  THAT  Story

Are  you  THAT  Person?

I told dozens of stories

that morning

but it’s the one that I heard

(and now re-tell)

that was experienced 

the most.          .          .

“You’re young,” John told the group.

“You   have   your   whole   lives   in   front   of   you,” he  continued; “that   you are   here   this   morning   to   learn;  that   you’re   here   to   do   something great   with   your   lives   for   others   is   good.”

Thank you,

 Professor John

for writing on a previously blank page of our books

that which will never be blank again;

nor will the pages we now will write following.        .        .

Amazing, isn’t it?

.          .          .There’s one thing to Seeing a Wave;

.          .          .There’s another thing to Catching a Wave;

.          .          .There’s another thing to Being a Wave;

.          .          .There’s another thing to SHARING  A  WAVE;

Just like it’s one thing to impact a person

and quite another to

EXPERIENCE  THE  INFLUENCE.         .         .

Strive to do both.          .          .

(often)

A Guest Lecturer

showed me it could be done

and in the process,

uncovered an UN-TRUTH:

WHEN   YOU   HELP   ANOTHER, YOU   HELP   YOURSELF

L               I               E !

When you help another,

You help even many more than

          T   H  A  T        O T H E R; 

with all of the RIPPLES  and WAVES their Shores touch;

And all the Waves and Ripples of Shores

EMANATING   FROM   YOUR’S.          .          .

It’s an never-ending TSUNAMI

of Unbelievable Kindness.          .          .

G E T     S O A K E D

What’ll STOP You ?

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What is it?

WHAT  STOPS  YOU ?

What slows you down.          .          .

What   DELAYS  YOU ?

What makes you proceed with caution.        .       .

What   redirects   you

What’ll discourage you.          .          .

What will dampen you resolve.        .        .

What will end your quest.          .          .

Interesting questions, huh?

Sometimes it doesn’t take much to deter us.          .          .

It doesn’t have to be a sign

or a natural or unnatural disaster.            .          .

Sometimes it can just be as random as a

thin sliver of metal

That’s what about did me in

on the way to Church

knowing that I not only needed to get there in time

to Lead Worship/Preach

but to hurry out and go do a funeral some 40 miles away

to hurry across town to do another funeral

so a flat tire was not in my plans.          .          .

s e l d o m

are bad things.          .           .

THE  TAKE  AWAY:

When bad things happen

G O O D       P E O P L E       S H O W       U P

Two   kind   Caring   Catalysts

Steve and Craig were both at Church early that morning

and when I told them of my woe

and even bigger woe of not finding a place that was open

to either fix the tire or buy a new one

E V E R Y T H I N G       W A S       C L O S E D

Steve was going to throw the not-so-effective

DONUT TIRE

and Craig had a better idea of going to a local AUTO ZONE

and put a tire patch on the leak

just as fast as he bought the kit

and I was happily down the road

without a bump or a burp.       .       .

my biggest problem:

GETTING.          .          .

I  don’t   G E T  so  good

a compliment or a fixed tire.          .          .

who thought it wouldn’t be the flat tire

and the

FIXING      OF      IT

would be less of a problem

than my

RECEIVING        THE        KINDNESS

of      having      it      done.        .        .

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.          .         .

what does it say

That   K I N D N E S S

though severely appreciated

would keep me

S      T     O     P          M   E

humble me to a

s c r e e c h i n g

h a l t i n g.          .         .

The Living Sermon

from Steve and Craig

that Sunday Morning

was to teach me

A            G           A             I            N 

wasn’t   to   prove.       .       .

to shame me in knowing

my huge ugly-pimple-of-a-flaw

of not being a good RECEIVER

a GOOD-GETTER.        .        .

No.   .   .No.   .   .NO.          .          .

the   lesson

t o    j u s t 

G                   E                   T  

b  e  t  t  e  r

The WARM Cold

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C                     O                     L                     D

there’s only one true way to

E          M          B          R          A          C          E                   I          T

.          .          .with       W      A      R      M      T      H

In the Southern Hemisphere, the night of lune 20 is the longest night of the year, marking the arrival of Winter.          .          .

W E L C O M I N G

The Cold

as a GIFT

is part of being ONE

with Nature

and all of it’s cycles.          .          .

E     V     E     N

when

E          S          P          E          C          I          A          L          L          Y

when it’s in

U  S.        .        .

I’m one of those  strange ones

that actually likes WINTER

letting everyone I know:

I   CAN   ALWAYS   GET   WARM, BUT   I   CAN’T   ALWAYS   GET   OR   STAY  COOL

One of my most favorite authors is

John Updike

and in his essay, THE  COLD

he tells us,

“COLD   IS   THE   ABSENCE   OF   HEAT, AND   YET   IT   FEELS   LIKE   A PRESENCE–A   VIGOROUS   HOSTILELY   ACTIVE   PRESENCE   IN   THE  AIR…”

The ancients honored this rite of passage with ceremonies and celebrations. The Iroquois used to go to sleep early in the longest night, convinced that Mother Night reigned over the Earth and walked among people’s dreams to send them messages. At dawn, the tribe got together to exchange visions. The Incas celebrated Inti Raymi (Sun Festival): they received the first rays of the Solstice with open arms, throwing kisses at Apu Inti (Sun God). In Patagonia, the mapuche tribe still celebrate We Tripantu, or New Year, a festival of purification and gratitude for the renewal of life…

We are told

not so shyly

by Scientist and Ecologists:

We might have lost the pulse of so many vital cycles, we might have made a mess of them with our unconscious interventions, but we have never stopped being a part of them. Little by little, guided by some unerring voices, we rediscover, in Mary Oliver’s words our “place in the family of things.” Scientists speak of biophilia – the love of living things that beats even in the most relentless city-dweller, and they resort to biomimetics to learn from nature how to solve problems, even those we created by trying to thwart its plans.

C O L D      and    W A R M T H

The two meet in most unlikely

yet predictable ways

     I   N          U   S.          .          .

T  H  E            T  R  U  T  H :

There is no BLINDNESS worse than that which keeps you from seeing THE LIGHT you Bring.          .          .

T  H  E            T  R  U  T  H:

There’s always more WINTER in us than we’ll ever accept or Embrace.     .    .

T  H  E            T  R  U  T  H:

There’s always more Warm Light in us than we’ll ever accept or Embrace.     .     .

T  H  E            T  R  U  T  H:

T  H  E            T  R  U  T  H:

We    don’t    have    to    be    fully    ILLUMINATED    to    SHINE.       .       .

T  H  E            T  R  U  T  H:

W I N T E R

like any other season

has never lasted

for  an  ever

and the one that looms before us

and harshly at times

WITHIN   US

won’t either.          .          .

The Cure for Winter

isn’t the coming of Spring

nor is it moving from one  WARM  location to another.          .          .

It’s     E M B R A C I N G     IT

with a Warmth you possess

and   desperately   needs

S            H            A            R            I            N            G

The  Result:

W            I            N            T            E            R

isn’t   another   Season

It’s   Another   REASON

to   become

what   we   never   could

WITHOUT     IT:

W     A     R     M     E     R.          .          .

B     R     I     G     H     T     E     R.        .          .

and in some

beautifully

innocent

w    a     y

reaches within us

and takes us to

that small child

and the World of Blinkless

w     o     n     d     e     r

where it’s always warmly lit

no matter what the temperature.          .          .

S    E    E

B    E

F    R    E    E

t            h            a            t

in   the   Warm   Cold

The FINISH Line

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Ever been lost.        .       .

Ever feel like the  FINISH  LINE   is never in view

.          .        .that it doesn’t exist

.          .        .that it’s a myth

.          .        .that it’s an illusion

.          .        .that it’s really just an never-ending STARTING LINE

It was an absolute risk

for sure to be a new minister

and go out and run a race before

Sunday Morning services

but I lied to myself

in a most horrible way

and was convinced I could be back easily before

the first hymn.        .        .

I felt that all the way up until

a group of 40-50 of us

followed the wrong leader

and ended up at a secluded dead end path

a good two miles off the path of a 10K (6.2 mile) race

and then all of a sudden my heart began beating a different pace.        .        .

forget about winning the race

forget about placing first in my age group

forget about finishing ahead of the fastest group of women

forget about finishing

I just wanted to get back to my car

go back the 45 minutes to church

throw on a shirt, tie, a pair of dress slacks,

DRESS SHOES

and my robe

without as much as a sponge bath

.        .       .this was way before cell phones

and there was no place to put up a smoke signal

or a viable S.   O.  S.

I never made it to the FINISH LINE that day

and barely to Church Services

.          .          .it was not the FINISH LINE I envisioned

but one I continue to  F E A R

I have found myself

on the same kind of path

many different times without ever lacking up a pair of running shoes.       .       .

I really think I’ve cured the curse of

B U R N     O U T

(for me)

it just means NOT taking the logs off the fire

.          .          .but they have to be the   RIGHT  logs

.          .           .I know I can burn the Candle at both ends and in the middle

because (for me) I know where to get

the wax and the wick

E          V          E          R          Y          T          I          M          E :

it’s the endless RACE

the one that has no FINISH LINE

the one that when you get to where

the one that when you get to what

you think the FINISH LINE is

IT       I S N ‘ T

and you just keep going

and going

and going and

 g                              o                               i                              n                              g

You know what I’m talking about:

The day’s over and so are you

but just as you reach the FINISH LINE

and you’re pulling into home

you get a text

pick up this

or get that

and  OFF  you go

PAST      WHAT      YOU      THOUGHT      WAS      A

O            U            C            H

and  your  run  exhaustingly  continues

and you don’t dare stop

because you’re out in the middle of nowhere

and there’s only one way out of

N    O          W    H    E    R    E :

through  it

one foot in front of the other

just not so gingerly

or enthusiastically.          .          .

The Cure?

Don’t just run.        .         .

RUN   SMARTER.          .          .

RUN  WHILE CREATING YOUR OWN

It’s only then

that you not only OUT RUN

Burn Out

but obliterate it

By becoming

YOUR   OWN

Race Director

it’s a cinch you’ll stack the odds in such a way

that you’ll not only set your own personal best record time

not only place or show

but actually win

and not just in your age group

or every once in a while

or by reaching  T H E I R

but seeing in a good way

others will be joining in on your RACE

and winning in their own ways, too.          .          .

R E M E M B E R.       .       .

The       B       O       T       T       O       M       L       I       N      E

is   not   the  FINISH   LINE–

It’s   more   powerful.     .     .

And   here   it     i  s :

THE   FINISH  LINE   IS  WHERE  YOU  SAY  IT  IS.        .        .

the   problem:

You’re    usually    the    last    one    to    KNOW     IT

 

A Laugh on ME

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images-1

It was a while ago

so I can technically be let off the hook;

I was a student pastor

at Mt. Moriah Christian Church

in a little blip on the map

called Butler, Kentucky.     .     .

It was a warm Sunday morning and someone

had taken the trouble to pick a

magnificent bunch of flowers

and arrange them in a beautiful vase

on top of the altar.    .     .

In my attempt to not only bring people’s attention to it,

but also comment with a

‘Grateful Heart’

I inadvertently told the bold group of worshipers

“This is one of the most beautiful  CENTERFOLDS  I’d ever seen.     .     .”

The Church Organist has nearly recovered from that faux pas

.      .      .Nearly 40 years later, I’m still getting remarks

for not saying  CENTERPIECES.      .      .

Ohhhhhhhhh, it’s not been the only time.          .          .

There’s been malfunctioned zippers.      .      .

There’s been me introducing my brand new wife with my ex-wife’s name.     .     .

There’s been botched toasts.       .       .

There’s been misspellings in bulletins and newsletters.        .       .

There’s been wadder leaks and me getting more wet than the kids I baptized.    .    .

There’s been plenty of times I’ve been laughed  A T

but not as many times as I have actually

LAUGHED    AT

m          y          s          e          l          f.              .              .

Y O U ?

Well.             .             .

there’s some good news

if you’ve actually had a good

ga-faw 

at your own expense.      .     .

There’s two distinct studies that have shown that people

who have the ability to laugh at themselves

displayed positive and desirable qualities.     .     .

The first of these studies

conducted by Ursula Beerman

and Willibald Ruch

show that people who know how to laugh at themselves

tend to be more cheerful

and less serious

than those who remain solemn.       .       .

The second study

conducted by Colette Option, Julian Barling, and Nick Turner

found that in the workplace,

leaders who are able to laugh at themselves

and not at their colleagues

were viewed  as more

l i k a b l e

c a r i n g

and   t r u s t w o r t h y.      .     .

M  O  R  E

the studies

shows a surprising link between the ability to laugh at yourself

and   l e a d e r s h i p   potential

In essence.     .     .

The Researchers hypothesized

that when a leader

joked about themselves

in a critical way

people would view them as someone who values jokes

and shows concerns for others.             .              .

“We chose humor as a mechanism through which leaders express their concern for others (vs. the self) because of the potential for humor to be both a weapon to harm others and a tool to  build relationships,” the Researchers wrote.

“By making fun of themselves the leaders showed disregard for the difference in status between them and their workers and this was viewed as concern for others.”

The study ultimately concluded,

The Leader who poked fun at themselves was rated as more trustworthy and a better Leader

There’s so many,

m       a       n       y

ways to be a

C A R I N G     C A T A L Y S T

but being able to not just

s     m     i     l     e

at yourself

but actually

laugh  A T

l    a     u     g     h       w i t h     others

at yourself

is absolutely one of the most powerful

and

fun ways.               .              .

The  World is in

d e s p e r a t e

need of a laugh.       .       .

give’em  a  reason

and throw in a few smiles

for  free

just for memory’s sake

for years down the road.        .       .

It’s one beautiful

C      E      N      T      E      R      F      O      L      D 

that’ll      always      be     in

b    l    o    o    m

B           E           S           I           D           E           S

U     s     u     a     l     l     y

when    you    give    the    World

a   reason   to   smile

I   T        W   I   L   L

B U L L I E D

By Leave a Comment

https://youtu.be/mnKPEsbTo9s

T        R        U        T        H  ?

I’m not a big fan of Burger King.          .          .

T       R        U         T        H  ?

I’ve got a sudden urge to begin to visit ONE

a little more frequently.          .          .

The  Power  of  Advertising?

Nah.       .       .

The  Power of  Shame

I very likely would intercede

in the bullying of my burger

absolutely less likely to

NOT   GET   INVOLVED   IN  WHAT’S   NOT  MY  BUSINESS

is that the proper/easy way

to avoid

B  U  L  L  Y  I  N  G

if it knocks on my back porch screen door

but not necessarily my front door?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm  of  the  Day:

I spoke  ashamedly  honest about

standing up what I’d do if you’d bully my burger

and what I most likely wouldn’t do if it were some kids messing with another

So UN-Caring Catalyst of me, huh.        .        .

IT          DOESN’T        MATTER

.          .          .what does is

WHAT          WOULD          YOU          DO ?

Pass the Ketchup

and  oh  yeah.          .          .

T  H  E        S  A  L  T

(I obviously,  e m b a r r a s i n g l y   lack)

FLASHBULB MEMORIES

By Leave a Comment

It’s simply entitled

THE FALLING MAN

WE  REMEMBER.       .       .

Don’t WE.       .       .

September 11, 2001

A   PICTURE   IS   WORTH   A   THOUSAND   WORDS.        .        .

but   we   don’t   need   photographs, 

DO  WE.        .        .

These are called

FLASHBULB   M E M O R I E S

and psychologist tell us

this is why we

r      e       m       e        m        b        e       r

exactly where we were

what we were doing

on a specific date

in history

like

September 11, 2001.        .        .

In a Flashbulb Memory,

we recall the experience of learning

about an event,

not the factual details of the event.         .        .

The idea of flashbulb memory

was first proposed in 1977 by psychologists

Roger Brown, PhD, and James Kulik, PhD,

who posited that these memories

are so emotionally important to us

that they’re laid down as vividly,

completely and accurately as a photograph.        .        .

See.       .       .

You really don’t need a photograph

even if just one is worth 10,000 words.        .       .

So weather it was with the Challenger

or the death of Princess Diane

or 9/11

or the death of a loved one.     .       .

B       U        T

It could it also involve a

FLASHBULB  MOMENT

of Happiness.          .         .

Does it forever sear

FLASHBULB MOMENTS

of pure Gratitude

Seriously.        .        .

Do you need a psychiatric opinion?

Do you need data

Scientific studies

Countless interviews

to determine

that we could

not just have the intention

not just have the audacity

not just have the gall

but actually have the awesome

second-to-none

u n i v e r s a l

C A R I N G     C A T A L Y S T

power to create

 F     L     A     S     H     B      U     L     B         M  E  M  O  R  I  E  S

in the lives of a world

of individuals

who’s eyes

are sorely in need

of a sight

of compassion

of love

of empathy

of acceptance

of forgiveness

of openness

they will not only

N E V E R   F O R G E T

but, indeed

will never stop

 E       X       P       E       R       I       E       N       C       I       N       G

So, on the count of

T        H         R        E        E

say

C                 H                 E                  E                     S                   E

O  N  E

T       W       O

T         H         R         E         E.        .       .

Caring Catalyst Cost’s

By Leave a Comment


No   doubt   there’s

N    O    T    H    I    N    G

Like   it,

but   being

A       C  A  R  I  N  G      C  A  T  A  L  Y  S  T

C          O          S          T          S

Yesterday, on the Fourth of July

millions across the Country  celebrated

Independence Day.       .       .

It probably went largely unnoticed

that  FREEDOM

isn’t   F R E E

In this world

S      O      M      E      O      N      E      S

truly  pay  the  price

for people to be free.        .       .

Doubt it?

Go back to the very signers of

The Declaration of Independence

ALL  56  of them

paid with what you can’t cash in a Check

I F 

they   won   the   war   with   the   British

there would still be years of hardship as a struggling nation.        .        .

If   they   lost

they would have faced a hangman’s noose.       .       .

and yet there it is where it says,

“WE    HEREWITH    PLEDGE   OUR   LIVES, OUR   FORTUNES,  AND   OUR    SACRED    HONOR.”

They signed it.        .        .

but do you know what price was paid for those very signatures?

The late, great Paul Harvey

in his broadcast on July 4, 1974 reminded us

That Carter Braxton, a wealthy planter and trader, after signing saw his ships swept from the seas to pay his debts.    .    .He lost his home and all of his property.  He died in rags

         *              *            *

That Thomas McKean of Delaware was so harassed by the enemy that he was forced to move his family five times in five months.     .     He served in Congress without pay–his family in poverty and in hiding

    *               *                *

That Thomas Nelson, Jr of Virginia raised $2 Million on his own signature for provision for our allies, the French Fleet.        .        .After the War he personally paid back the loans which wiped out his estate; he was never reimbursed by the government and he died bankrupt

  *                 *                *

That John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside while she was dying; his 13 children fled in all directions for their lives.     .     His fields and gristmill were laid waste and for more than a year he lived in forests and caves to only return home from the War to find his wife, dead, his children, gone, his properties, gone only himself to die a few weeks later of exhaustion and a broken heart  

*                  *                 *

Of all the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence

few were long to survive.          .          .

Five were captured by the British

and severely tortured before dying.          .          .

Twelve had their homes

from Rhode Island to Charleston

sacked and looted

occupied by the enemy

or burned.     .     .

Two of them

lost their sons in the Army

One had two sons captured.        .        .

Nine of the 56 died in the War

from its hardships or merciful bullets.       .       .

They had learned that liberty is so much more important

than security.       .       .

For   T H A T    they pledged their lives

their   fortunes

their   sacred   honor.          .          .

They  fulfilled  their  pledge

They  paid  the  price

   AND      FREEDOM      WAS      BORN

T       R       U       T       H :

I didn’t give that much thought

with the second helping of potato salad

the extra piece of apple pie

the barbecue

and certainly not during

The  Fireworks

b   u   t         w   h   y.        .        .

why not think

give second thought

that being a Caring Catalyst

especially then

or even at the very moment

doesn’t come with a cost.          .          .

that needs

P               A               Y               I               N               G

which    leads    to    the    ultimate    question

On the Fourth or the Fifth of July

or   E V E R:

Are    You    Willing    To    Pay    IT?

They   did.       .        .

D O    Y O U ?

 

Professional Speaker, Author, Assurance Man