Who Cares - What Matters
https://youtu.be/TmQ74XO_Fx0
It always has to be the perfect time, doesn’t it?
A day. . .
A season. . .
An occasion. . .
A situation. . .
A holiday. . .
A Birthday. . .
An Anniversary. . .
o r . . .
for no reason
Maybe the World doesn’t desperately need a gift for no reason. . .
but
I bet a person does
B E
the
G I F T
that doesn’t so much need given
but
r e c e i v e d
B E
the
G I F T
that’s needed for the moment
for the
n o w o f i t !
B E T H E P R E S E N T
The greatest events that take place in our lives. . .
sometimes take place without ever being on the calendar.
I was scheduled to speak at an event a week ago to a group of Nurses, Social Workers, Case Managers, and Administrators at an area hospital and when I arrived I showed up at the wrong place.
I was standing just outside of the reception area, calling my contact person and
I T H A P P E N E D . . .
The UN-Calendared E V E N T:
An elderly lady and her granddaughter walked out of the swooshing hospital doors and one cue when they hit the cold air of the late morning she burst into a loud, uncontrollable wail of deep woe:
“I can’t, can’t, can’t believe what I just heard. The Dr, the Dr, he just told me that I have, that I have can-can-can-cancer! Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God, Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh God. . . .”
The phone was still ringing and I had my back partially to them.
Before I could respond
Before I could hang up the ringing phone from the other end
Before I could offer any consolation or comfort
B E F O R E
. . .the granddaughter did the most
pure
simplest
kind
loving
compassionate
caring
a m a z i n g
a c t:
She held her grandmother,
hugged her. . .
let her cry. . .
and then said,
“Grandma, I know he just said the worst thing we should ever have to hear but he doesn’t know us, he doesn’t know how well we all fight together with each other, he doesn’t know how strong our family is and how we don’t ever do anything alone. . .I’m here, I’m here, I’m here,”
. . .she whispered to her grandmother over and over again as she held, gently rocked her like I could only imagine she was once rocked by her when she fell or was afraid or had her feelings hurt or. . .
O B L I V O U S
that I was standing just a few feet away
that a crash cart was just on the other side of the swooshing doors
that several nurses and one doctor were talking at the receptionists desk
t h a t
anything else or anyone were available or necessary.
In a simple, significantly powerfully way
I witnessed
what I know
what I know I know
what I’d bet my life I know
but for the life of me
I don’t always a c t l i k e I k n o w
t h a t
medicine
interventions
therapies
treatments
blind studies
experimental aids
placebos
d o n o t h e a l u s
R E L A T I O N S H I P S
heal us.
Are you a Caring Catalyst?
Do you want to be?
You may be just a mere
h u g
a g e n t l e t o u c h
a h e l d h a n d
away.
Be
t h a t
hug
gentle touch
an open and willing holding hand
Your words will never tell what your actions always will. . .
The greatest things in our lives sometimes take place without ever being c a l e n d a r e d
Are you Ready?
Sometimes. . .
The Best
most effective
least evasive
cost efficient
non-addictive
m e d i c i n e
isn’t found in a
syringe
capsule
elixir
pill
intervention
therapy
or
treatment. . .
b u t a t t h e e n d o f y o u r e x t e n d e d h a n d
Sometimes. . .
it takes more than medicine.
C O M P A S S I O N
(s u f f e ri n g w i t h)
a powerful antidote
for the human condition
F I L L
. . .D E L I V E R
that Prescription
Every Time!
Q U E S T I O N O F A L I F E T I M E :
Is it easier to to
S T A R T
a R i p p l e
or to
S T O P
a R i p p l e ?
Psssssssst:
The only true way to answer the question is by
H O W Y O U L I V E !
. . . w e l l
H O W
L I V E
Y O U ?
Are you making a
S P L A S H
or
D A M M I N G
the Flow. . . ?
If you’re not soaking
you’re dry rotting.
NEVER
LET
KINDNESS
END
WITH
YOU. . .
Here’s to making your next kind act, your greatest
y e t
but
not
your best to come. . . .
Is it easier to start a ripple or stop a wave?
How Live You ?
Pretzel’s are good.
Warm, freshly baked Pretzels at the Mall are the Best
u n l e s s
they
or something about them are
T W I S T E D
Back. . .way back when Mall’s were very popular and the obvious place to be,
I would take my daughter to just walk around on Friday’s while we waited for her sister to be done with school.
It was always good for a cheap toy and a nice, warm pretzel. . .
and a really contorted act.
We were walking around the Mall, throwing unwanted pennies into a fountain, buying annoying noise making plastic objects and yes. . .a nice warm, salty pretzel.
I tore mine a part like a savage discovering food for the very first time and nearly digested it even before I had fully eaten it in blink-of-the-eye quickness.
My daughter, Angie had barely taken a few bites and as her loving, caring, overly compassionate father, I asked if she would share. . .if she would give me a bite of her pretzel.
She didn’t think it was a good idea.
I play cried and told her how her daddy bear didn’t have any porridge that day and how he needed his Goldilocks to have a heart and s h a r e. . .how sharing was a really good, kind thing to do.
She didn’t think it was a good idea.
I play acted Igor Mutalutz with my hand–the hungry fun-spider-like animal that liked little girl’s uneaten donuts, candy and pretzels.
She didn’t think it was a good idea.
As my stomach growled something not human like, I pulled out all of the stops and used one of the go-to tricks parents sometimes have to resort:
G U I L T
“Hey. . .who bought. . .who gave you that pretzel to begin with?”
She didn’t think it was a good idea. . .but it worked.
She handed over most of her soggy, mangled up pretzel.
Guilt and Fear sometimes comes dressed as
L O V E
but it’s never fits right and rarely is tailor made.
She has never brought this up to me. . .I’m not sure she remembers. . .if as she reads it now. . .
but I do.
I remember. . .
and the memory snapped my head around
the other day when I saw a big, bad bear, Igor Mutalutz, guilt/fear wielding father remind his daughter who, in fact, had just bought her a six-nugget-not-so-happy-meal.
Y’OUCH !
Some memories are best to be left forgotten whatever’s below the basement where there’s always a bin, a bag or an album of pictures you’d rather never have been captured. . .
some memories don’t feel good experienced the second, fourth or ga-zillionth time.
Ever done anything as
T W I S T E D
as a pretzel. . . ?
Ever done anything to
un – t w i s t it?
Hmmmmmmmmm. . .might be time to make another memory. . .
a not-so-twisted one.
Pass the mustard. . .
P L E A S E
I’ll share–really–
H E R E
s o m e
say that you know it’s really
C H A N G E
if it doesn’t
J I N G L E
The Nobel Prize in Economics has been awarded to Dr. Angus Deaton for his studies on the consumption, poverty and welfare. Dr. Deaton is a professor at Princeton University. In accepting his award he has noted that,
“There’s a real moral urgency to understanding how people behave and what we should or might be able to do about it…Life is better now than at almost anytime in history. . .more people are richer and fewer people live in dire poverty. Lives are longer and parents no longer routinely watch a quarter of their children die. . .I think inequality has gone past the point where it’s helping us all get rich, and it’s really becoming a serious threat. . . .“
Hmmmmmm of the Day:
Could it be that Dr. Angus Deaton actually is a true
C A RI N G C A T A L Y S T. . . ?
No. . .
not because he really can distinguish the difference between
Dollars and S E N S E. . .
Not because he’s a brilliant Economist. . .
Not because he has just won the Nobel Prize. . .
Not because he knows at its best 1 + 1 = much more than 2 ever could. . .
but because of Dr. Deaton’s
C a r e
. . .what he does with his
C A R I N G
is a real
C A T A L Y S T
to
C H A N G E
. . .the kind that never quite Jingles in your pocket
but can’t help
r e s o u d i n g
in your Heart.
That we all might be such a
caring catalyst
is such a jingle that could forever fill
our pockets
and our
h e a r t s !
When’s the last time you’ve been
B R O K E D O W N ?
No. . .
I’m not talking about the last time you blew a tire
I’m not talking about the last time your battery quit battery-ing
I’m not talking about the last time the Alternator stopped Alternating
I’m not talking about the last time when you blew a Radiator hose
I’m not talking about the last time your water pump stopped pumping
I’m not talking about when you pushed it and ran out of gas. . .
I’m asking,
When’s the last time you’ve been
B R O K E D O W N ?
. . .When you’ve read something
. . .When you’ve heard something
. . .When you’ve watched something
that actually Broke You Down ?
I’m pushing a very dangerous limit here.
According to a recent study from Microsoft Corp., we now have an attention span less than a Goldfish
(Talk about getting Broke Down)
The study reveals that we generally lose concentration after about eight seconds, which seemingly highlights the affects of an increasingly digitalized lifestyle on the brain.
So. . .maybe somewhat foolishly. . .
I’m asking you to watch a five-minute-thirteen-second video that was suppose to be a social experiment of how long it would actually take someone to stop to help a motorist who was broken down on the side of the road.
It took over two hours and then the person that actually stopped. . .
W A I T. . .
S T R E T C H
Your Attention Span by five-minutes-and-five-seconds and get
B R O K E D O W N
to become more
whole
than you could ever possibly be on a Monday Morning in any other way.
And. . .
CONGRATULATIONS FOR CONCENTRATING LONG ENOUGH
to make it through the video and this blog posting. . .
maybe the berm
has put you well onto the Road again. . . .
And if you would like to help a not-so-broken-down-ONE to become more whole you can contribute to: https://www.gofundme.com/xbmt3w
It was a busy Saturday morning. . .in an extremely crowded Giant Eagle Grocery Store.
It was just a quick,
GET IN, GET OUT
kind of an excursion.
(Aren’t they all?)
I went in and got a couple of gift cards and two greeting cards and then. . .
got in a long, a very long 10 items or less line.
There she was,
THE GIANT EAGLE ANGEL
She had a basket full of things. . .many different
E L E V E N T H I N G S
and then it happened. . .
She looked at what I was holding in just one hand and said,
“Sir, why don’t you go in front of me. I’m in no hurry and you just have some gift cards.”
I, protested at first and told her it wasn’t such a big deal, but she insisted and so,
NOT TO INSULT HER
I took her up on her offer and thanked her profusely.
. . .And then,
B A M
IT HAPPENED.
I told her she had done her good deed for the day and that’s when she shared with me that this had nothing to do with her good deeds so much as her
C A T H O L I C G U I L T
I joked and asked her if she was blaming The Pope on her good deed
and she joked back and told me it was more of the Nuns than The Pope.
I thanked her again for her
good deed
generosity
kindness
fear
guilt. . . .
It made me think about me
It made me think about you
It made me think about us
What ultimately makes us do what we do?
Are the reasons
P U R E
or
Tainted ?
Was this about some kind of weird guarantee of getting a small spot in Heaven
or
Not wearing Asbestos underwear for Eternity?
SHOULD’S = GUILT
OUGHT’S = FEAR
HAVE-TO’S = GUILT/FEAR
WANT-TO’S = RAINBOW’S/POT’S OF ENDLESS GOLD
Some kinds of Choices, huh?
What do you Choose. . .
Or
What really CHOOSES YOU?
Can and Act of Kindness
just be an
A C T OF KINDNESS ?
(It Can. . .until. . .it CAN’T
Hmmmmmmmm of the Day:
Sometimes the higher The Eagle Ascends, not only the Closer to Heaven,
BUT the Bigger the Splat of the White Stuff that always finds your Windshield. . . .
IF YOU’RE HELPING SOMEONE AND EXPECT SOMETHING IN RETURN
IS IT
B U S I N E S S
or
K I N D N E S S
?
What’s worse?
The Un-Sung Song that never gets heard. . .
The Sung Song that never gets Experienced. . .
You don’t have to be a Member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
It’s Not just have a Song. . .
It’s Not just Singing a Song. . .
But most of all
Just Share. . .sharing YOUR SONG
Watch Your Note actually make a Difference
In the Scale of Someone’s Life
We all have a Song
Not so much to be Sung or Heard. . .
But
S H A R E D
E X P E R I E N C E D
Bring Your Music
to the Person in need of a Tune
Bring a foot to tapping
A face to smiling
A Heart to a different kind of Beating
And a Soul
to a new understanding
of a Caring Catalyst
It may start out as a timid Solo
but watch how the Voices join in to make the most awesome of Choirs
. . .and then Experience the Difference it makes in you
and the One it Transforms. . .
A One and and Two and a Three. . . .
It seems like the time before Biblical Times ago, but it was only about 30 years. . .
I was the Associate Minister First Christian Church, in Washington, PA, a 1,5oo member church with an average attendance of 350 folks each Sunday. My chief job was being the Youth Minister and Pastor of Visitation.
I had three big youth groups, two of which met every Sunday and a pre-junior high group that met every Wednesday afternoon.
I was a busy man.
At the end of the School year I made sure that we celebrated the graduating Seniors of the group and took them out to dinner. . .
But. . .not just any kind of Dinner
The group was always around 15-20 kids and this is where it would get interesting.
We loaded into cars and drove to one of the fanciest restaurants in town and, mind you, we were dressed in our bests to represent that special evening. The young ladies had on their best dresses and the gentleman, suits and sport coats.
We all peeled out of cars and vans and walked into the Restaurant with everyone talking about what they were going to order.
I had one of the most popular guys go to the Maitre D and tell them that we were there and were ready to be seated.
The look on their faces is still one I’ve never forgotten as they stood there, shocked, when the Maitre D and then the Manager came over to tell them that there were no such reservations that had been made.
Ooops, My Mistake. . .
We all piled back into the car and repeated that same scene at two other very nice restaurants in town and now the natives were not only embarrassed but a little perturbed, to say the least.
As were piling into our cars after the 4th incident, one of the kids said something about this whole evening being
b o g u s
and we’d be better off just going to McDonald’s. . . .
And wouldn’t you know. . .
that is exactly where our cars went. . .right into the parking lot of our local McDonald’s
Reluctantly, these hungry kids got out of the cars and walked into the McDonald’s and saw what they had never. . .ever seen in any McDonald’s before. . . and never. . .
WILL EVER, NEVER SEE AGAIN !
There was a string quartet from the local W & J College playing classical music
There was four tuxedo’ed Maitre D’s
There was linen table clothes
There was Candlelight
There was Sparkling Grape Juice in really nice Sparkling Wine Glasses
There was a McDonald’s Buffet of everything they made in plenty
There was Memories that were being made that none of their minds would ever forget
. . .or. . .or mine.
I’ve always had a personal, fervent belief that it wasn’t ever so much to tell, hear, show, taste, smell a message so much as to actually E X P E R I E N C E O N E !
So. . .when was the last time?
When was the last time that you actually Experienced a Message?
Uhhhhh. . .when was the last time you actually gave such an Experience?
I’ve found that the absolute best thing, without a doubt, about such Experiences:
Is Giving. . .Having
The very next one
unexpectedly. . .
o f t e n.