A Forever Valentine’s Day

February 19, 2021 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

A B S U R D
A VALENTINE’S DAY CHRISTMAS TREE
o r. . .
A Reality we should all be making true
not EVERY once in a while but
EVERY DAY. . .

Here’s to Valentine’s Day
never being just a day and
YOU PROVING IT. . .
if you want to be a part of
making the UN-REAL,
ULTRA-REAL
then you’ll enjoy these stories Sara Aridi, a staff editor on the Home team, where she produces the home screen and mobile app. She joined The Times in 2016.

Witnessing Kindness and Love in Unexpected Places

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, and now way past it, we asked readers to share moments when they stumbled upon acts of affection. Here are some of their stories.

Has this happened to you? You’re going about your day, minding your business. Then you suddenly spot a caring interaction that lifts your spirits, like a couple embracing or a stranger lending a hand to another.

These days, the world could use a pick-me-up. Ahead of Valentine’s Day, we asked readers to share when they unexpectedly witnessed an act of love or kindness. More than 100 readers wrote in with stories of affection, from years ago or just recently. Here are a select few, edited and condensed for clarity.

I’ve been walking in my local park more often. My heart has been moved by two friends who meet every morning. They are male and likely in their mid-80s. They arrive separately, each with coffee and a Dunkin’ Donuts bag. They sit on adjoining benches, six feet apart. One doesn’t start his coffee until the other is there. They aren’t particularly talkative with others in the park — I’ve tried. Their focus is on one another.

— Grace E. Curley, Boston

My 90-pound Bernese mountain dog, Lilly, has a neurological problem that makes her fall down. This causes her great distress. My golden retriever, Katie, came over to Lilly this morning after she had fallen, and licked her on the lips. Then she took a nap and snuggled against her canine sister.

— Penny Nemzer, Greenwich, Conn.

After months of staying at home, my 2-year-old son was not excited to be around strangers. That changed when he started day care. One of the first friends he made was Dennis, a construction worker who works near his school. Dennis often gives a high-five and a fist bump before my son lists all the new words he’s learned. He looks forward to this interaction every day, and Dennis never disappoints: He is always there with a big, welcoming smile.

— Smita Jayaram, Jersey City, N.J.

As the morning bell rings, one of my Grade 3 students would enter the school lobby holding his younger brother’s hand. My student would carefully help his brother remove his mittens and unzip his jacket. Then he would tenderly kiss the top of his head before they split up for their own classrooms. Such a loving and responsible gesture.

— Sheila Bean, Calgary, Alberta

Riding the bus years ago, I noticed a young man suddenly stiffen and slide sideways from his seat, stricken with a seizure. The passengers grew silent. We were concerned, flustered. The driver radioed for help and pulled over. Then a woman sat on the floor beside the young man. Humming quietly, she began stroking his hands. We all got off the bus, but the woman and boy stayed together. Her hum became a quiet song as they waited for his spasms to end.

— Tracy Huddleson, Garden Valley, Calif.

I have a balance problem after an operation on a brain aneurysm affected my ability to do certain things like bending or looking sideways. One day while walking with a stick through the city, I realized that my shoelace was undone. I just kept walking. Suddenly a young woman stopped. “Hey,” she said, “your shoelace is undone. Here, let me do it up in case you trip.” She tied the shoelace, smiled and walked on.

— Carol Lange, Oxford, England

I was 6 years old and spending the night at my grandparents’. While I was sitting on the porch, a couple walked past. The man reached down and plucked one of my grandmother’s tulips out of the garden and gave it to his lady love. I was outraged and ran into the house, yelling that someone had “stolen” one of my grandmother’s flowers. She calmed me down, held my hand and said, “That’s what flowers are for.”

— Clare Poth, Buffalo

I was walking to the post office. An older, masked couple walked slowly on the other side of the street. During the pandemic, people walk fast, avoid contact and try to get their things done quickly. For a moment, the couple stopped. They kissed through their masks and continued walking. It gave me some hope, that even in these times, love and human connection prevail.

— Susi Reichenbach, Brussels

We were at the beach on Martha’s Vineyard. The sun was bright coral and hanging over the horizon. Just as it was about to set, there was a commotion a few yards in front of us. A young man had just proposed to his partner, and everyone around them just turned to watch them take the first step into their new lives.

— Harriet Bernstein, West Tisbury, Mass.

When I was little, my parents and I flew to Seattle often to visit their friends. Once, while at the airport, I saw what I presumed to be a husband and wife embrace, kiss and tearfully say goodbye. That surprised me. My parents had just divorced and had never been overly affectionate. I think about that couple often.

— Margaret Anne Doran, Charlottesville, Va.

I was standing in a crowded subway train, facing a woman who was sitting. I was going through a terrible week. I was exhausted and overcome with emotion. All of a sudden, I started to cry. It almost didn’t occur to me that anyone could see me. But the seated woman did, and she handed me a tissue without saying anything except for giving me a comforting, knowing look.

— Nicole Shaub, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

My mother often traveled for work when I was in high school. She could be away for weeks at a time. During one of her trips, I wandered into my parents’ room. My father was smelling one of her scarves. Blushingly, he put it down and said, “I was just missing your mother.”

— Sarah Hughes, Rockville, Md.

While I was driving, something up ahead brought everyone to a standstill. There was restlessness and frustrated honking. But when the cars in front of me moved into the next lane, I saw that a woman in one car was repeatedly stopping, getting out, grabbing brown-bag lunches and distributing them to the many homeless people on the side of the road. She offered them conversation, care and warmth, and seemed not to care about the frazzled drivers behind her.

— Sam Alviani, Denver

Several years ago, I was walking in the East Village when a biker got clipped by a car. The biker was hurt and bleeding, and the car drove away. Within seconds, dozens of New Yorkers sprang into action. Several people ran down the street to note the car’s license plate number. A ring of people surrounded the biker to administer first aid, ripping off sweatshirts to stanch the bleeding. In under two minutes, ambulances and police cars had arrived on the scene. There was not a second of chaos. It was a beautiful ballet of competence and confidence. New Yorkers care for each other.

— Elizabeth Brus, Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

We’re back in school, and we’re at choir rehearsal. Scrupulously adhering to guidelines, my students are singing outdoors, in masks, 10 feet apart. It’s January in New England, 34 degrees and overcast with an icy breeze.

Two high school senior boys, young men now, members of the choir I direct, inseparable since forever and never silent in rehearsal until Zoom muted them, chatted and laughed and danced together unselfconsciously between singing verses of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

They look like there’s nowhere in the world they would rather be.

— Scott Halligan, Longmeadow, Mass.

As I was headed to the drugstore, a high school-aged boy walked out carrying a bouquet of yellow daffodils. Someone yelled from across the street: “Are you looking to get lucky?” He answered: “No, I think I’m in love!” This happened probably 40 years ago, and I still think about it.

— Sallie Wolf, Oak Park, Ill.

Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst:

If you’re looking for
L o V e
as a certain Shape, Texture, or Color
you risk missing it–
D O N ‘ T. . .

Every time Love comes showing up
all full bloom and neatly arranged

It has a not so pretty side
that shows off all of the flaws
and the scars
that almost makes you forget
the other side. . .
a not-so-subtle-reminder
that sometimes
LOVE AT ITS BEST
ain’t all that pretty or proper
but nonetheless powerful. . .

Brene Brown
will remind you
it’s not for the weak of heart
but for the Hearts of the Weak. . .
and what makes it as palpable as a heart beat
and more necessary than your next breath
is that it always answers
The Question:

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. . .
that’s not only when it gets good
it’s what makes
VALENTINE’S DAY
EVERY DAY
( PROVE IT )

BEZOS’D

February 5, 2021 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Some faces
Some names
are well recognized
and if you’re reading this
IT MOST LIKELY ISN’T YOU
unless you’ve been BEZOS’D
unless you are actually Jeff Bezos
with the HEADLINES
S H O U T I N G:

Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos announced on Tuesday that he will step down as the CEO of the company. . .

THE HIGHLIGHTS SHARED:

Jeff Bezos announced on Tuesday that he will step down as the CEO of the company.
Bezos will take over as the executive chairman in the third quarter of this year.
The head of Amazon’s cloud division Amazon Web Services (AWS) Andy Jassy will take over as the new CEO of Amazon.

Bezos said that he intends to focus on new products and initiatives in his letter. He is the biggest shareholder in Amazon, so despite stepping down as the CEO, he will still have a lot of control over the company. In September 2020, Jeff Bezos topped the Forbes’ list of richest Americans for the third year in a row. His net worth now crossed $202 billion after an increase of $5.22 billion in a single day. However this year, Tesla supremo Elon Musk toppled Bezos to become the world’s richest person. Elon Musk’s net worth now surpassed $195 billion, and Bezos stood at 185 billion.

Here is the complete letter Bezos wrote to his employees:

Fellow Amazonians:

I’m excited to announce that this Q3 I’ll transition to Executive Chair of the Amazon Board and Andy Jassy will become CEO. In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives. Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have. He will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.

This journey began some 27 years ago. Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name. The question I was asked most frequently at that time was, “What’s the internet?” Blessedly, I haven’t had to explain that in a long while.

Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognized as one of the most successful companies in the world.

How did that happen? Invention. Invention is the root of our success. We’ve done crazy things together, and then made them normal. We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more. If you get it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. And that yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive.

I don’t know of another company with an invention track record as good as Amazon’s, and I believe we are at our most inventive right now. I hope you are as proud of our inventiveness as I am. I think you should be.

As Amazon became large, we decided to use our scale and scope to lead on important social issues. Two high-impact examples: our $15 minimum wage and the Climate Pledge. In both cases, we staked out leadership positions and then asked others to come along with us. In both cases, it’s working. Other large companies are coming our way. I hope you’re proud of that as well.

I find my work meaningful and fun. I get to work with the smartest, most talented, most ingenious teammates. When times have been good, you’ve been humble. When times have been tough, you’ve been strong and supportive, and we’ve made each other laugh. It is a joy to work on this team.

As much as I still tap dance into the office, I’m excited about this transition. Millions of customers depend on us for our services, and more than a million employees depend on us for their livelihoods. Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else. As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions. I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have.

Amazon couldn’t be better positioned for the future. We are firing on all cylinders, just as the world needs us to. We have things in the pipeline that will continue to astonish. We serve individuals and enterprises, and we’ve pioneered two complete industries and a whole new class of devices. We are leaders in areas as varied as machine learning and logistics, and if an Amazonian’s idea requires yet another new institutional skill, we’re flexible enough and patient enough to learn it.

Keep inventing, and don’t despair when at first the idea looks crazy. Remember to wander. Let curiosity be your compass. It remains Day 1.

Jeff

So. . .
Have you been Bezos’d?
Most likely
N O T
if you have been caught up in his wealth
if you wish you were his recently ex-wife
if your focus is on AMAZON but not its essence
B U T
if you have the spirit of DAY 1
if you tap dance to work
if you’re more about Now and less about Then or Later
there’s a good Chance
that you have been BEZOS’D
. . .it’s not patented or trademarked
but it can be instilled
and not so much replicated
than embodied. . .
BEZOS’D:

RINSE
(ever so lightly)
REPEAT

B E Z O S ‘ D

THE PITCH that WASN’T

January 29, 2021 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Psssssssssssssssssssssst:
Don’t look now,
but it’s safe
to look in your mailbox
both virtual and literal. . .
Now that the Holidays are safely behind us
we don’t have to worry about
THE PLEA
THE PITCH
that nicely begs
and not-so-nicely guilts us into
G I V I N G
and it happens from
THANKSGIVING
(BLACK FRIDAY/CYBER MONDAY)
all the way through the last second of the
Old Year
(so we might get that much needed tax deduction)
u n t i l
Thursday, December 24, 2020
when I got
THE-FIRST-EVER-OF-IT’S KIND-PLEA
from Frank Ostaseski

Frank Ostaseski | PO Box 2710, Sausalito, CA 94966

My first reaction:
“THIS IS BRILLIANT”
“You make people give by inviting them
NOT TO“
. . .pretty cynical even for a most awesome
Christmas Eve Moment, huh?
But I know Frank:
I’ve heard him speak several times
HIS INTENTION
is always to
give
add
bless
enrich
start a ripple
LIVE A COMPASSIONATE LIFE
BE A HEALING COMPANION
S H A R E

My Response:
I prayerfully donated to
The Greater Cleveland Food Bank
COVID-19 Resource Fund
The City Mission
a n d
The Metta Institute
My deepest Response:
G R A T I T U D E

INAUGURATED

January 20, 2021 By ChuckBehrens 2 Comments

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S
THIS IS YOUR DAY
not a personal
Christmas
Birthday
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Easter
Passover
Hanukkak
Kwanzaa
Labor Day
Halloween
Thanksgiving
New Year’s
No, no. . .
It is YOUR INAUGURATION DAY
Y O U R S
THE DAY
you will begin to bring a phase of
U N I T Y
the likes
you or no one else has ever experienced,
YOU

The inaugural speech that will be given in just a few mere hours is likely to echo calls for unity that predecessors have invoked since the first time George Washington was sworn in.

“Unity has always been an aspiration,” says presidential historian Douglas Brinkley. “It seems like whenever we have foreign policy flare-ups, we use the word freedom. But when we have domestic turmoil we use the word unity.”

The United States was forged through compromise among factions that disagreed profoundly on slavery, regional influence and the relative powers of state and federal government. When Washington assumed office in 1789 he cited the blessings of providence in noting that “the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which most governments have been established.”

Jefferson was the third U.S. president, and the first whose rise was regarded by opponents as a kind of emergency. The 1800 election won by Jefferson marked the beginning of competing political parties — Jefferson was a leader of the Democratic-Republican Party, losing incumbent John Adams a Federalist — and critics regarded the new president as a dangerous atheist. “JEFFERSON — AND NO GOD!!!” was how one Federalist paper described Jefferson’s candidacy. Adams did not attend the inauguration, a breach rarely repeated although Trump has vowed to do the same.

“Let us then, fellow citizens, unite with one heart and one mind,” Jefferson urged in his address. “We are all republicans: we are all federalists. If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this union, or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated, where reason is left free to combat it.”

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, a Federalist who administered the oath of office to Jefferson, wrote later that the speech was “in the general well judged and conciliatory.”

Lincoln’s pleas were more dire, and tragically unmet, despite what historian Ted Widmer calls his “genius to combine urgency with literary grace.” Seven out of 11 future Confederate states had seceded from the U.S. before he spoke, in March 1861, over fears he would end slavery. The Civil War would begin a month later. “We are not enemies, but friends,” Lincoln had insisted, reminding fellow Americans of their “mystic chords of memory” while also warning that resistance to the will of voters would destroy democracy.

“A majority held in restraint by constitutional checks and limitations, and always changing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sovereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it does of necessity fly to anarchy or to despotism,” he said.

Historian David Greenberg, whose books include “Nixon’s Shadow” and “Republic of Spin,” cites Richard Nixon’s inaugural in 1969 as another speech given at a time of social turmoil. The U.S. was violently divided over the Vietnam War and civil rights, and Nixon himself had long been seen as an unprincipled politician exploiting fears and resentments — appealing to what he would call “the silent majority.” His speech at times was openly and awkwardly modeled on the 1961 inaugural of John F. Kennedy, who had defeated Nixon in 1960.

“We are caught in war, wanting peace. We are torn by division, wanting unity,” Nixon stated. “We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another — until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.”

Some presidents asked for unity, others asserted it.

Franklin Roosevelt, elected in a landslide in 1932 during the Great Depression, said in his first inaugural speech: “If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other.” Four years later, having won by an even greater landslide, he declared the country had “recognized” a need beyond financial help, a “deeper” need, “to find through government the instrument of our united purpose.”

Unity can prove more imagined than real. When James Buchanan spoke in 1857, three years before the Civil War, he claimed that “all agree that under the Constitution slavery in the states is beyond the reach of any human power except that of the respective states themselves wherein it exists.” Rutherford B. Hayes, whose presidency was marked by the retrenchment of federal troops from the post-Civil War South and ongoing resistance from Southern whites to equal rights for Blacks, declared during his 1877 inaugural that true peace could be achieved through the “united and harmonious efforts of both races” and the honest work of local self-government.

“A president often claims the country is ‘united’ behind a belief when it’s more wishful thinking than reality,” Widmer says. “I’m not sure how many Americans wanted to do something for their country after JFK asked them to — although there were impressive new kinds of volunteers, like the Peace Corps. And I think that many Americans still appreciated help from the government, even after Ronald Reagan declared that ‘government is the problem.’ “

So let’s have it. . .
what’s your speech
what are you going to say to
unify
validate
inspire
motivate
guide

What will you Legislate in your Personal Constitution:

What will you Amend into Law

Before you BRING HOPE
who will you look to
GET HOPE. . .

NOW THAT’S AN INAUGURAL STATEMENT
let it begin in the very Soul of
US
and beat from the very Heart of
US

Too Soon?

November 16, 2020 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

Practicing gratitude
implementing it in our lives
is a major part in realizing the good we have already,
like right now
Y E S
even NOW
2020
(that NOW)
in the middle of a pandemic crisis
and yet to even say
WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE
of anything
is more than a fair chance
to make
TO BE
A Difference. . .
A real game changer. . .

Here we are once again
(BUT REALLY BRAND NEW THIS YEAR)
getting to have a
THANKSGIVING
we’ve never quite experienced this year
in just 10 days. . .
Sure,
all of the fixings might be there
but our Thanksgiving Tables are
(no doubt)
going to look
going to feel
going to be
d i F f e R E n T
which really begs the question:
TOO SOON. . . ?

Is it ever too early
Too Soon
to be thankful. . . ?
Is there ever a time not to be grateful. . . ?
What tips the scales on your gratitude meter
and just when
. . .just when
was the last time that you tipped
Another’s scales?
Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst. . .
Please tell me
I don’t have to give you
THE ANSWER. . .

IN A WORD

October 28, 2020 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

SOUNDS LIKE GREEK TO ME, Right?
The World can humble you
in such a way
that what you know
what you know that you know
what you bet your life that you know
YOU DON’T KNOW AT ALL
. . .kind of sums up
L I F E
and most definitely
2 0 2 0. . .
I F
you could sum up this tumultuous year
or just these past topsy-turvy
2 3 1 days
and our
COVID19, hurricane, civil unrest, wildfires, politically tense
e x p e r i e n c e s
in one word
what would it be:
frustrating
disappointing
deadly
hurtful
devastating
tragic
hopeless
shocking
unbelievable
or the Greek word:
A C E D I A

The Lost Greek Word That Explains Our Pandemic Emotions
just may show much more. . .

The boredom, fear, uncertainty, and exhaustion we feel has a name. . .
and hopefully an even deeper
M E A N I N G

I first heard about this word when I read an article by Jonathan L Lecher from THE CONVERSATION. Literally, when we’re in the middle of yet another wave of Covid19 and having some communities in rebooted lockdown conditions and movement restricted everywhere else, no one is posting pictures of their sourdough. Zoom cocktail parties have lost their novelty; Netflix can only release so many new series. The news seems worse every day, yet we compulsively scroll through it.

We get distracted by social media, yet have a pile of books unread. We keep meaning to go outside but somehow never find the time. We’re bored, listless, afraid, and uncertain.

What is this feeling?

John Cassian, a monk and theologian, wrote in the early 5th century about an ancient Greek emotion called acedia. A mind “seized” by this emotion is “horrified at where he is, disgusted with his room. . . . It does not allow him to stay still in his cell or to devote any effort to reading.” He feels:

such bodily listlessness and yawning hunger as though he were worn by a long journey or a prolonged fast. . . . Next he glances about and sighs that no one is coming to see him. Constantly in and out of his cell, he looks at the sun as if it were too slow in setting.

This sounds eerily familiar. Yet, the name that so aptly describes our current state was lost to time and translation.

Noonday demon

Etymologically, acedia joins the negative prefix a- to the Greek noun kēdos, which means “care, concern, or grief.” It sounds like apathy, but Cassian’s description shows that acedia is much more daunting and complex than that.

Cassian and other early Christians called acedia “the noonday demon,” and sometimes described it as a “train of thought.” But they did not think it affected city dwellers or even monks in communities.

Rather, acedia arose directly out the spatial and social constrictions that a solitary monastic life necessitates. These conditions generate a strange combination of listlessness, undirected anxiety, and inability to concentrate. Together these make up the paradoxical emotion of acedia.

Evagrius of Pontus included acedia among the eight trains of thought that needed to be overcome by devout Christians. Among these, acedia was considered the most insidious. It attacked only after monks had conquered the sins of gluttony, fornication, avarice, sadness, anger, vainglory, and pride.

Cassian, a student of Evagrius, translated the list of sins into Latin. A later 6th century Latin edit gave us the seven deadly sins. In this list, acedia was subsumed into “sloth,” a word we now associate with laziness.

Acedia appears throughout monastic and other literature of the Middle Ages. It was a key part of the emotional vocabulary of the Byzantine Empire, and can be found in all sorts of lists of “passions” (or emotions) in medical literature and lexicons, as well as theological treatises and sermons.

It first appeared in English in print in 1607 to describe a state of spiritual listlessness. But it’s barely used today.

Making like monks

As clinical psychology has reclassified emotions and mental states, terms like “melancholy” can sound archaic and moralizing.

Emotional expressions, norms, and scripts change over time and vary between cultures. They mark out constellations of bodily sensations, patterns of thought, and perceived social causes or effects.

Since these constellations are culturally or socially specific, as societies change, so do the emotions in their repertoire. With the decline of theological moralizing, not to mention monastic influence, acedia has largely disappeared from secular vocabularies.

Now, the pandemic and governmental responses to it create social conditions that approximate those of desert monks. No demons, perhaps, but social media offers a barrage of bad (or misleading) news.

Social distancing limits physical contact. Lockdown constricts physical space and movement. Working from home or having lost work entirely both upend routines and habits. In these conditions, perhaps it’s time to bring back the term.

More than a label

Reviving the language of acedia is important to our experience in two ways.

First, it distinguishes the complex of emotions brought on by enforced isolation, constant uncertainty, and the barrage of bad news from clinical terms like “depression” or “anxiety.”

Saying, “I’m feeling acedia” could legitimize feelings of listlessness and anxiety as valid emotions in our current context without inducing guilt that others have things worse.

Second, and more importantly, the feelings associated with physical isolation are exacerbated by emotional isolation—that terrible sense that this thing I feel is mine alone. When an experience can be named, it can be communicated and even shared.

Learning to express new or previously unrecognized constellations of feelings, sensations, and thoughts builds an emotional repertoire, which assists in emotional regulation. Naming and expressing experiences allows us to claim some agency in dealing with them.

As we, like Cassian’s desert monks, struggle through our own “long, dark teatime of the soul,” we can name this experience, which is now part of our emotional repertoire.

N O W
the biggest question of all. . .
DOES NAMING WHAT HAS BEEN NAMELESS, MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

WHO WOULD EVER IMAGINE
that the cure
for a Word
you most likely never heard of
3 minutes ago
was
Y O U
y e s:

Educating the Heart

June 15, 2020 By ChuckBehrens 2 Comments

I was never
an academic all-star;
I most likely
was a classic undiagnosed ADHD
Kid who was often classified as a
“SMART KID WHO CAN’T SEEM TO STAY FOCUSED”
during parent/teacher conference
who excelled with
anything to do with
Reading
and nothing to do with
Math. . .
Who
was often writing poetry
and putting together lyrical phrases
that I wrote in the margins of books
or large lined notebooks
that made me look like
I was ferociously
taking notes. . .
I was often motivated to do well in school
so I could play sports
and not to embarrass my
school teaching, coaching dad
and school secretary mom
. . .but it always felt
foreign
distant
and far from a home
my heart beat to reside
UNLESS
I had
THOSE
teachers
who didn’t
look to grade
penmanship
sentence structure
or what I could recite back
after nights of intense memorization. . .
THOSE TEACHERS
that wanted a piece of my mind
and a part of my heart
by inspiring me
with theirs;
who challenged me to read
WHAT WASN’T
on the syllabus
but more in my dreams;
IT
was the one thing that shaped me then
and still drives me now
T H I S
EDUCATION OF THE HEART
which you never graduate
nor receive a degree
but something far
F A R
more important:
A DEEPLY MEANINGFUL LIFE
. . .PAY ATTENTION, CLASS
The Lectures have ended
but the Teaching
is in a never-ending
S E S S I O N
and it’ll not only assure
that your heart will beat differently
IT WILL GUARANTEE
you’ll cause other hearts
to be
forever significantly better
THIS
Education of the Heart

VISION

May 4, 2020 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

We are way beyond the
SURREAL
aren’t we. . . ?
For the last 7 weeks we have had it put upon us to do
The New,
N E W
and it’s done everything it can
to not just cripple us
but destroy us
by merely
SOCIALLY DISTANCING US. . .

Have you ever felt like you are just coasting through life and missing out on becoming the person you were destined to be
especially now in this
UN-Normal, NORMAL?

Or have you felt like you’re trying your hardest to live up to your greatest potential — to make a difference – to live out those dreams in your heart that seems now to forever be beating differently. . . ?

But something keeps getting in your way
Holding you back
Road blocking you. . .

This can be
DE- Couraging. . .
Somewhere along the way we might lose sight and motivation to pursue what really makes us happy. . .
we’re lighting our Candle
only to have it immediately
s n u f f e d

We might resign ourselves to being okay with just getting by in life
And worst
accepting that some people
get to live their dreams
as we get robbed of our
V I S I O N

Sometimes the weight of our daily lives can deter us
from taking the first step towards manifesting our heart’s desires
Towards living a life of abundance.
And towards truly living up to our greatest potential. . .

While that might sound pretty heavy – today’s video
isn’t. . .

I saw it years ago
but the perspective has all changed
and so has my
V I S I O N

I’ve lived them on this journey in being of service to you. Following our dreams doesn’t come easy. It comes with the price of hardship and challenge. . .

Fortunately, in just 380 seconds of this video you can learn what each and every truly successful person has done to elevate themselves from the hardships up to living their dreams. 🙂

Now here’s a tough question…

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

The way we look at ourselves also reflects how we interpret life. The way we think about ourselves shapes how we respond to life.

No matter where we begin, the next step in our journey of living our dreams starts inside each and every one of us.

And what keeps us going when times get hard and it seems like our heart’s dreams are merely that. . .
just dreams?

W H Y
Dream only when you sleep
. . .If you’re only dreaming when you’re asleep
you’ll never have vision;
BE THE PRIMARY PROOF
of it. . .

F A M I L Y

April 13, 2020 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

It all felt differently yesterday,
didn’t it. . . >
Easter
in one way or another
all of my life was spelled
F A M I L Y
and yesterday,
well yesterday
many of us were
FAMILY-LESS
not at our fullest capacities. . .
Oh,
we talked on the phone
and Face Timed
but not seeing
not being with each other
because of our
PHYSICAL DISTANCING
was tough
especially when it came
to talking with my dad
who I haven’t seen in 4 weeks
because he’s been locked down
at a nursing home;
We’ve all heard it. . .
We’ve all probably said it. . .
We’ve all probably thought it more than ever hearing or saying it:

YOU CAN PICK YOUR NOSE

YOU CAN PICK YOUR FRIENDS

BUT YOU CAN’T PICK YOUR FAMILY

. . .can they pick you?

I remember when our kids were little

and not when they’ve grown older and have had kids of their own:

“You know there’s a legend, an ancient belief that babies actually choose their parents and also have a hand in the life they want to lead, especially in the lessons and challenges they need to face and learn from in their
life. . . .”

I sometimes reminded my kids of this when I wasn’t all that popular with them about decisions or consequences to some of the decisions they
made. . .

I’d remind them,

“HEY, REMEMBER, YOU CHOSE ME, YOU CHOSE US. . .”

The one thing they never have heard from me

nor ever will:

“YOU ARE NOT A PART OF THIS FAMILY!”

That would be kind of hard for me since as a

Father

Grandfather

Husband

Professional Speaker

Minister

Chaplain

Man

Person

HUMAN BEING

I’ve never seen myself as not

being a part of

F A M I L Y

YESTERDAY
It was most painfully apparent for all of us
wasn’t it?

The Take Away. . .

No matter what

No matter where

No matter how

No matter when

I AM NOT LEAVING THIS FAMILY
(stay with me)
Here’s to our
d i s t a n c i n g
reclaiming
us all

A Helpers Helper

April 3, 2020 By ChuckBehrens Leave a Comment

We have to hit the rewind button on this
but even all the way back into the early 70s
I remember there was a product
which is still out there today
HAMBURGER HELPER. . .
The reason this was invented
and used
and still popular
is because it takes a little bit
and makes a whole lot;
it enhances. . .
In this upside-down-topsy-turvy-earth-literally-on-its-axis-time
we kind of need a helper
well. . .
to help
don’t we?
I’ve been working in healthcare since about 1988
as part-time chaplain at several area hospitals
and full-time now since 1994 with hospice. . .
I’ve always seen myself as an auxiliary
Helper
I, in no way
have ever seen myself as the main guy;
FRONT LINE
. . .In fact,
I’m almost embarrassed to say that I work in healthcare
when everybody’s getting free coffee
extra special shopping hours
and even free burritos
because they are
F R O N T L I N E
Even though I’m still working in an inpatient unit
and seeing patients and families
I, in no way,
see myself as a first responder
or as a helper
or even a Final,
a Last Responder
even though I’m still doing funerals and graveside services. . .
I have always first
and foremost
seen myself as a
Helper to the HELPER;
It literally has not already
defined my entire life
it is severely enhanced it. . .
Aren’t we all THAT:
H E L P E R S
Have we failed to notice
what is so recognizable before each of us. . . ?
Not only to be a Helper
but at the very least
H E L P E R S
to the Helpers
That’s what it means to
HOLD SPACE
That’s what it means
especially at this very moment
To not only be significant
but also to make some sense
out of why we are all really
here now at this very
i n s t a n t

I have never performed brain surgery
or mended together broken bones
. . .at the very best
I’ve held hands
and cared for broken hearts
held space for tired spirits
listened to what a heart shouts
but a mouth can’t ever imagine whispering;
I literally
have tried to be
all things to all people
not that I can save them
so much as serve them
not always as they deserved
but but always as they have needed. . .
To help bring some light to the darkness;
To be for them–
patient
family member
or first responder
final responder
what no one else
in that very instant
could ever be for them. . .
Now the not so big Secret:
We all have the capacity
To be Helpers
To Be Responders. . .
I have the upmost respect
not just for the medical doctors
not just for physician assistants
not just for nurse practitioners
not just for the nurses
not just for the social workers
not just for those most blessed health aides
but for all those who recognize
and see themselves as
Helpers to the Helpers. . .
Who isn’t THAT person?
A First
A Fair to Midland
A Middle of the Roader
A Near the Ender
A Final
R E S P O N D E R
. . .label me what you will
but for the sake
of us all
I hope to never be known as a
NON-RESPONDER. . .
THIS THING
we are all dealing with right now
is not by Chance
(no accident)
It’s the Beginning
of one of the possibly
Biggest-most-epic-world-wide-challenges
in our lives
so far
. . .or it isn’t
It’s time to be a
A RESPONDER
A HELPER
A HELPER’S HELPER
It’s time to play Nice
at a not-so-nice time. . .

Who will be?

Who won’t be?

WHO WILL YOU BE. . .

It’s time to be more than a
MASK WEARER
it’s now
O U R
T I M E
to be
HELP-BEARER