Harmony Articles
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Interestingly enough, because the lead goose actually situates itself slightly behind the perfect point position of the V, the geese that follow relieve some of its wind drag. It does not have to work harder than the others. The benefit of the air flow pattern in the V goes both ways. While the lead birds pull along those behind, the followers' flight sends relief back up to the front.

From geese we learn that we function more effectively in a community. We were created by God to work together, encourage and support each other. When we cooperate and help each other to succeed, we accomplish much with less stress and difficulty.   From Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks     BACK

Wisdom & Understanding
There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. Man puts an end to the darkness. He searches the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness. Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft, in places forgotten by the foot of man. Far from men he dangles and sways.

The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire; sapphires come from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold. No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon's eye has seen it. Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there. Man's hand assaults the flinty rock and lays bare the roots of the mountains. He tunnels through the rock; his eyes see all its treasures. He searches the sources of the rivers and brings hidden things to light.

But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed in silver. Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold. Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention. The price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? The fear of God--that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.   Adapted from The Book of Job - Chapter 28  BACK

Hearing the Message
There is a tendency by some to hear what they want to hear. Instead of listening to what’s being said, they brutally disregard the conversation and interject their own opinions. This is not the road to better communication. Consider when it goes to extremes:

I give you now Professor Twist,
A conscientious scientist,
Trustees exclaimed, "He never bungles!"
And sent him off to distant jungles.
Camped on a tropic riverside,
One day he missed his loving bride.
She had, the guide informed him later,
Been eaten by an alligator.
Professor Twist could not but smile.
"You mean," he said, "a crocodile."   

"The Purist" by Ogden Nash

The road to right relationship starts with listening attentively and caringly. It’s rightly said that the best conversationalist is also the best listener. So listen up! BACK

Kindnesses
A young boy entered a coffee shop and sat at a table. The waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "$1.75," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "$1.25," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said..

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two quarters. You see, he didn’t choose the sundae because he had to have enough left for a tip.

What ways can you think of to bring the same kind of thoughtfulness to your community?  It's often the little things that count.  BACK

Life in the Key of F
Francis the Foolish felt little filial fondness for his flawless, fastidious father, Ferdinand the Fourth. Following one February fortnight, Francis finagled his father to fork over five hundred forty-five farthings and then fled to foreign fields.

Francis frittered away his fortune on fast food, frivolous fashion, floozies, firkins of foaming ale, fickle friends and funky music. Facing failure, Francis found himself flinging feed in a filthy farmyard as a farmhand. Footsore and famished, he fained to fill his flaccid frame with filched food but found it fit for only a footman. "Fie!" flared Francis, "My Father's flunkies fare far finer." Fortunately, the frazzled fugitive finally faced the facts. Frightened and filled with foreboding, he fled forthwith to his faraway family.

He fell fatigued at his father's feet and phrased his feelings: "Father," he fumbled, " I've fuddled and fruitlessly forfeited family favor....forgive me." The far-sighted father kissed Francis' forehead and flagged his flunkies. "Fetch fatlings from the flock and fix a feast for Francis. Forthwith! Fall to!"

The first-born, Frederic the Feculent, frowned upon his father's forgiveness of Francis' foolish folderol. "Flog this fiend!" he fumed. He has fettered away our family finances!" But the faithful father felt that Francis' foibles should be freely forgiven. "Forsooth, the fugitive is found, so what forbids festivity? Fly the flags freely, amid fifes, fiddles and fanfare...fling a feast!"

This parable encourages us to forsake freely flowing festivities. The Father seeks those who are forlorned and desire forgiveness. He forgives those who see their own failures. Furthermore, this Friend is a real fortress and fresh fountain, taking us at face value just like the Prodigal Son. Adapted from Luke 15:11-31.   BACK

Cog in the Wheel
Ever feel overwhelmed and insignificant? Our unfulfilled dreams can leave us dazed and confused. What’s it all about anyway? We pigeon hole our minds and misplace our childlike imagination. Instead of bright horizons, we see impenetrable walls...and a sense of hopeless. But take heart! Remember who you are and where you hope to go:

We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams.

World-losers and world-forsakers,
Upon whom the pale moon gleams;
Yet we are the movers and shakers,
Of the world forever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion an empire's glory:

One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample an empire down.

We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of the earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself with our mirth;

And o'erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.     "Ode" by Arthur O'Shaugnessy  BACK

Coping with MINE!ors
In many homeowner associations, frustration is lurking just below the surface, waiting to explode into anger. Frustration is the result of unfulfilled expectations. These expectations can be either reasonable or unreasonable, mature or immature. Mature expectations are thoughtful considerations colored by fairness. These folks will generally resolve their issues in a Win Win fashion. Immature expectations are out of balanced and summarized by the philosophy we’ll call "MINE!". MINE! thinking generally permeates those who delight in (for example):

1) Parking in someone else’s reserved spot,
2) Allowing their dog to bark incessantly
3) Planting in the common area
4) Generally irritating the neighbors, yet
5) Don’t believe the rules apply to them, and
6) Want quick enforcement on others

While "MINE!ors" aren’t plentiful (thank God), they do tend to take a disproportionate amount of time to deal with. And you can’t ignore them because they’ll only throw a bigger fit!

With MINE!ors, there is a Parent-Child relationship at work and precious little logic behind their actions and anger. MINE! is a territorial imperative...a wall of defense built out of fear. It’s reactionary and intense. For the MINE!or, facts and information are extraneous. When dealing with one, the main response should be reassurance. Responses like "I understand", "We won’t do anything without polling all the owners" and "We are getting expert counsel before we decide" are all calming responses.

There are several other techniques for resolving MINE!or differences:
Allow the MINE!or to vent without interruption.
Respond without anger. Don’t fuel the fire.
Apologize without taking the blame: "I’m sorry you feel that way."
Empathize: "I’ve felt that way myself."
Ask questions and solicit solutions.
If you can resolve the issue, say how and when it will happen.
Confirm that your solution is acceptable.
End the conversation cordially and thank them.
And beat a hasty retreat.

Sometimes, the property manager gets blamed for issues that are rightly the Board’s due to lack of policy and procedure. When that happens, the manager should advise the Board in writing (copy to owner) and ask for a decision at the next Board meeting (or as soon as possible if urgent). Advise the owner of the right to address the Board in person.

A final tip...Some MINE!ors resort to abusive behavior like screaming, swearing and physical violence. MINE!ors often vent during the cocktail hour and tend to disrupt a happy home. Never deal with someone that is clearly out of control. As a general rule, board members should not to take phone calls directly about association business unless it’s an emergency. If you don’t have a manager to intercept such calls, consider getting an association phone line with Call ID, Voice Mail and Message Notification options. Prescreening the calls will determine whether to respond immediately or later. This process will cool MINE!ors who want response NOW!

Coping with MINE!ors is an infrequent yet demanding task. Ignoring them will only increase their intensity. Be patient...be calm...be consistent. MINE!ors respect a firm yet gentle hand.  BACK

What’s at Stake?
Have you ever wondered how elephants are trained? The first lesson is to make the elephant believe it can't escape. Baby elephants are tied to a strong steel stake, like a horse to a hitching post. The elephant will try to break free, can’t and eventually will give up.

Once the young elephant has learned that it can’t pull the stake from the ground, the strong stake is replaced with a smaller weaker one. Yet, a mature elephant trained in babyhood won't attempt to break loose, even though strong enough to easily yank any stake out of the ground.

We are also best trained as children where the limits should be. If we learn the difference between right and wrong, it will stay with us for a lifetime. This training, coupled with the conscience we’ll all born with, will guide us safely through life’s pitfalls.

God has an unchanging desire for peace in our lives. If you learn the stake of discipline early, it will open doors you could only dream of. Your life is at stake. "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the difficult days come..." (Ecclesiastes 12:1)  BACK

Murphy’s No Lawyer
Have you ever wondered who that Murphy character was? Edward A. Murphy, Jr. was a rocket-sled engineer testing human acceleration tolerances for the US Air Force in 1949. He experimented with a set of 16 accelerometers mounted to different parts of the subject's body. There were two ways each sensor could be glued to its mount. Ironically, somebody managed to install all 16 the wrong way.

Thus, Murphy made this statement: "If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it." In 1958, he was ironically misquoted in Webster's Dictionary: "Anything that can go wrong, will."

Many take this pessimistic view of life seriously. Glitches, chaos and hapless misadventure have all been attributed to Murphy's Law. His "law" is the ultimate dream killer. Why try? It will only fail.

But Murphy was no lawyer and God tells us that if we trust in Him, Murphy's Law has no hold over us. While we may not be able to control every situation, God will always be there. When things go wrong, He will see us through. That’s a law that you can trust.  BACK

Walking a Tightrope
It was a sunny day. Large crowds had gathered on both sides of the great Niagara Falls. The mighty waters crashed on the rocks below. Above the Falls, a long tightrope stretched from one bank to the other. The famous tightrope walker carefully balanced his long pole and stepped onto the rope. The crowd watched silently as he placed one tentative step in front of another, the cable swaying from side to side in the wind. Step, by careful step, he moved forward until he finally stepped on the other side. The crowd cheered wildly!

With an abrupt about face, the tightrope walker stepped back onto the swaying cable and repeated the feat, this time pushing a wheel barrow in front of him. As he stepped onto the bank, again the crowd cheered and shouted that he was the greatest.

He shouted to them, "Do you think I could carry a person across on my shoulders". Shouts returned from the crowd, "You can do it!", "Go for it!" and "You’re the greatest!".

He fixed his eyes on them and said, "Great, which one of you will hop on?" One by one, onlookers glanced nervously away and voices hushed.

In what do you put your trust? Is it rock solid or a fleeting fancy? Will it still be there after the dust settles? Your choice has eternal consequences.   BACK

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